Holed Up
by FeistyFox
Summary: They weren't supposed to get stuck out here. Of course, he wasn't supposed to get shot either. At least they were good at making the best of things.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

"Cain, come on! We can't stop!" Her urgent whisper had the man moving forward as best he could as they broke cover. His breathing was ragged and she knew they needed to find a place to hide, like, now. Searching the dark woods with her eyes all she could see were a few sparse trees and leaves in every direction. They were out of places to run to. An idea sparked and she gathered the last of her magic. "This way!"

The sounds of men shouting and the stomp of horse's hooves followed them as she practically dragged the tin man to a small break in the trees. He let out a grunt of pain as his leg gave out. Falling to the ground he accidentally dragged her with him when she refused to let go. Grabbing her arms he shoved her up. "Princess, you need to run! I'll hold 'em off for as long as I can!"

Staying on her knees she caught his wrist. "I'm not leaving you!" Then she let her magic flare and concentrated as hard as she could. She'd never tried to do anything like this before but right now that didn't matter. She would make this work or die trying. The wind began to pick up to roaring speeds and soon the leaves and dirt from the forest floor were whipping around them. Turning her attention to the sky she saw the vortex forming and locked her eyes on Cain's. She had to shout to be heard. "I don't know where we'll land!"

The tin man had caught on to what she was doing and his arms snapped around her and dragged her against his chest so they wouldn't be separated by the storm. He hid her face in his shoulder and shouted. "Stay focused, Kid!"

A shot went off a millisecond before the twister caught them and then they were being tossed about in the wind. She clutched desperately at Cain's duster as the last of her magic was ripped from her and then they were falling. Hitting the ground in a heap she was thrown out of Cain's arms and bounced over the ground until her shoulder hit something hard and sharp. Letting out a shout of pain she lay still for a minute as she tried to get her bearings. The world was still whirling around her at sickening speed.

Putting her hands under her she pushed with her arms and managed to get a few inches up before falling down again. She had landed on unforgiving stone and her head was spinning from the drain and the vortex. "Cain?" She heard the sound of waves lapping nearby and tried to get up again. The tin man hadn't answered. Her voice rose in alarm. "_Cain?_"

Staggering to her feet she saw him lying on his side in the darkness a few feet away and fell to the ground beside him. Rolling him to his back she put her hand to his neck and held her breath. His pulse beat slowly under hers. "Oh, thank god." Relief like she never felt coursed through her briefly before fear set in. He could still die. Ripping off her shirt she began to shiver in the thin tank top she had on immediately and didn't care. A cold would be an acceptable compromise for his life. Scooting down to his leg she ripped the shirt into strips.

As soon as she was done she began to wrap them around the bullet wound below his knee after a quick but thorough examination. Tying the fabric tightly she crawled back to his shoulder as she tried to sort out where she had thrown them. The moon broke out from behind the clouds and she saw a disjointed pile of logs fifty yards down the lakeshore. She knew where they were. This was better than she could have hoped for. They were still in the Outer Zone and near a safe place. Now all she had to do was get a badly wounded man down a ladder and into Ahamo's old tepee before he bleed to death. No problem. She just needed to get him up.

Putting her hands on either side of his face she turned his head up to hers. "Cain." He didn't twitch. "Cain? Please, Cain. Wake up." Nothing. She felt tears pricking at her eyes. If he didn't wake up she couldn't get the to the safety of the hut. If she couldn't get them in the hut she couldn't help him. If she couldn't help him he would bleed to death before her eyes. In her panic she used his first name. The name she only dared to use in her own head. "Wyatt? Wyatt, wake up." She stroked his face in distress. "Wyatt. Wake up. Please, I need you to wake up for me." He groaned and she nearly sobbed in relief. "Wyatt?"

"Kid?"

"Yeah, it's me." He opened his eyes slowly and she ran her fingers over his skin. "Come on, Tin Man. You need to wake up for me. Just for a few minutes."

"Where are we?"

"The middle of nowhere. I need you to help me. I'm sorry. You're too heavy for me to lift and my magic is gone."

"What happened?" Shoving her arms under his she helped him sit up slowly. The last thing they could afford was for him to get dizzy from moving too fast and pass out again.

"The travel storm set us down outside of Ahamo's secret lair. You were unconscious. That's about it."

"Are you ok?"

"Drained. Tired. Scared to death. Other than that I'm great."

He grunted out a laugh over the pain and she looked at him. "Cain, we need to get to the house."

His head swiveled around as he leaned into her. "What house?"

"That big pile of wood." She pointed.

"You're kiddin'."

"Not even a little. It's better inside but you have to go down a ladder." She looked him over critically. "Can you do that?"

"Can you?"

"We're about to find out." The tin man nodded and bent his good leg under him and pushed up. When he was stable she counted to three and heaved. They got up in a rush and then she was wrapping her other arm around his waist as he swayed. "Steady!"

Hopping slightly he caught his balance and she began to lead them toward the hut. They had to stop twice for Cain to rest and then again when they reached the woven logs. Helping him sit on the edge she collapsed next to him and pulled in a few gasping breathes. Twisting tiredly she gazed down the dark hole and sighed quietly. This would be the hard part.

His hand found her shoulder and patted it gently. "We can do this."

She couldn't believe he was trying to encourage her in this situation. "I know." Crawling to the top next to him she swung one of her legs over and considered their options. Cain was in no shape to defend himself if something was down there. She could at least move around. That only left them with one choice. "Give me your gun."

"What?"

She looked up at him tiredly. "I have to go first. Please, my light's gone." She held out her hand and waited patiently. After a long moment where his eyes darted between her and the darkness below he took it from its holstered and placed it in her hand grip first.

His hand snapped out to catch her jaw. "You shoot to kill. Understand me?"

"Yes." To keep Cain safe she could do that. Besides, she'd already killed at least three men tonight. What was one more on her conscience?

He must have seen the conviction in her eyes because he nodded and let go of the weapon. Swinging her other leg over she found the first rung of the ladder and started down into the hole. The tin man's eyes followed her until he simply couldn't see her anymore. Reaching the dirt floor she dropped into a crouch and tried to let her eyes adjust.

Something glimmered in a corner and her head swiveled around. A soft glow began to pulse more brightly and she edged cautiously toward it. She knew better than to handle anything with magic lightly. Frowning in confusion she saw two poorly made ceramic dolls lighting up in pulsing waves. She didn't really want to know. At least they lit up the table they were sitting on well enough for her to spot an oil lamp.

Setting the gun down long enough to light it with a nearby match she lifted the lantern in her left hand and held the gun out with her right. There was nothing in the main room to worry about but Ahamo had appeared from a connected hallway. Heading that way quickly she found a small bedroom and a very primitive bathroom that were also empty. Walking out to the main room she called up to Cain. "It's safe. Do you need help?"

There was no answer just a creak of wood as he lowered himself down. Positioning herself at the bottom she set the lamp down and watched him anxiously. Going slowly and using his arms he managed an awkward hop-slid down the rungs. Reaching for his shoulders she helped him balance when he got to the ground. "That was awesome, Cain."

"Never impressed anyone by goin' down a ladder."

She put his gun away in his holster where it belonged. "Yeah, well, no one ever saw you do it with a bullet wound." Sneaking under his arm again she dragged him slowly to the bedroom. It helped that the walls were narrow and he could use his free arm to push himself forward on them. His leg bent unexpectedly when they were in and he let out a shout as they fell. Twisting quickly she used her shoulder to shove him toward the mattress. He fell on his back across an old quilt as she tumbled to the floor next to the bed. That was going to leave a bruise. Blinking she saw his legs hanging near her and levered herself up.

Cain was twisting his neck around to look for her when her head popped up. "Deeg?"

"I have good aim." At her remark he let his head fall back and closed his eyes. Most of the color had drained out of his face and she knew she needed to look at his leg more closely. Spotting another lamp she lit it with the first one and suddenly she could see the room a whole lot better. There was a small fireplace dug into the earth wall and a trunk wedged into a corner. Moving to it she flipped the lid up and found a bunch of spare clothes and a pair of worn black boots. She doubted any of these things would fit Cain. He was bigger than the consort was.

"You're bleedin', Kid."

"What?" She began to hunt around and found an old grey shirt that would suit her purposes.

"Your shoulder." The tin man's voice was laced with pain.

Turning her head she spotted a shallow gash surround by and assortment of scrapes from where she had landed and shrugged. It wasn't that bad. "I'll live. We need to focus on making sure you do." Closing the trunk she put the old shirt on top and stood quickly. "Stay there." Like he could actually get up.

Then she was breezing out into the main room. Heading straight for the cluttered table she began rummaging around for what she needed. Ten minutes of hunting later and she was next to Cain and setting down her supplies. Going over what she needed to do in her head she started a fire and began cutting the shirt into even pieces with a knife. When she was done she dropped the lot of them and several towels into a small iron pot she had filled with water before hanging it over the fire on a hook.

Grabbing the small med kit she put it on the edge of the bed before helping the tin man into a sitting position. "Good news or bad news?" She lifted his leg enough to shove a dry towel under it so he wouldn't bleed all over the only blanket they had.

He clenched out an answer between his teeth. "Bad."

"The bullet tore through the muscle in your lower leg. It went through both sides and the bleeding isn't going to stop with just pressure from a bandage. I have to cauterize it or you could bleed to death before an infection had a chance."

"Alright." His eyes flickered to the fire and I knew what he was thinking. This was going to hurt like a mother. "Good news."

"I know how to do this and I have everything I need. As an added bonus Ahamo has a painkiller is his first aid kit. It should numb your leg a bit so you won't hurt as much as it could." It was still going to hurt like hell. Her stomach turned at having to do this to him but she refuse to let him see it. "Are you ready to start?"

"Yes."

Nodding she went into a fast set up. The bandages were starting to boil as she pulled out the small syringe and glass vile of a substance that worked the same way a low dose of morphine did. Holding him still she injected him above his knee in the hopes that his bloodstream would carry it down his leg. It would take a few minutes to kick in which gave her time to finish everything else.

Lifting the pot off the now blazing fire she used the knife to fish out the strips of the shirt and the towels. Sucking in a breath she held her hand out over them and forced a small spark of magic into the bandages. She nearly screamed at the sensation that shot out of her but held it in. She had only reached this level of magic loss one other time but Tutor had told her if she pushed beyond this stage she would literally be ripping light from her life force. It could kill her if she tried to do too much. Carrying the now disinfected and dried bandages next to him she turned and cut his pants open from the knee down before putting the knife over the flames to heat up.

Pulling in a steadying breath she looked into his blue eyes as calmly as she could. "Is it any better?"

"It's only throbbing now." She could tell by the tone of his voice that the pain had fallen to at least manageable levels.

"Ok. I know this is going to hurt but try not to move. I'll go as fast as I can but I have to do it right." Untying the remains of her now blood soaked shirt she tossed them away and quickly opened a bottle of alcohol. Pouring it over the entry wound she cleaned it carefully being sure to get out every speck of dirt and sand that was clinging to it. She repeated the process on the exit wound and pressed another towel around his leg before standing up.

Picking up the knife she sat down again. "You may want to close your eyes."

The tin man simply raised his eyes to the ceiling and gripped the blanket. Ripping the towel from his leg she clamped her arm over his thigh and pressed the flat of the glowing blade over the first hole. Cain let out a muffled scream and she fought not to react. Moving as quickly as she could she flipped the blade over and pressed it to the second hole. He jerked involuntarily and she held on firmly with her body weight until it was done.

Tearing the knife away she threw it in the empty pot and reached for a salve. Spreading it over the new burns she finished and started wrapping him up. The tin man was shaking badly and a sheen of sweat covered his white skin. At least he didn't look like he was going to throw up. Securing the wrapping she moved next to his shoulder and caught his hands so he could squeeze her instead of the blankets. "I'm so sorry, Wyatt. It's over. You did so great."

Nodding mutely with his eyes closed he rasped out a request. "Water?"

"Anything you want." Without thinking she kissed his cheek before slipping off the bed. Another three minutes later and she had found dishes and a clean bowl. She filled both with cold water from the pipe in the bathroom and returned to Cain. He was panting but his eyes were clear if pain filled. Handing him the water she helped him sip it slowly before she wet one of the remaining towels and rung it out.

Lifting the material to his face after he was done drinking she cleaned the sweat off his skin gently. The tin man watched her tiredly, not even trying to stop her, and she knew how bad he must be hurting. Keeping her worry out of her face she moved down to his neck and gave him a small smile. "We really need to stop pissing people off."

With a grunt of amusement he let his head flop back against the wall. "You make a valid point."

"Right?" Putting the towel and the water on the floor for a moment she began to unhook his holster. At least the leg band was around his uninjured leg. His eyes opened again a he watched her.

"Thank you."

"For what? Making you hurt even worse?" She shook her head and dragged the leather away from him. "For getting us chased? For getting you shot?" Getting to her knees she started on the buttons of his vest. He needed to rest and he couldn't do that in all these layers. Well, he probably could but she'd rather he be as comfortable as he could get.

"How about for saving my life? Twice?" He touched her knee. The closest part of her body to his limp hand. "Those things weren't your fault."

"If you say so." The last thing she wanted to do was get in fight with him right now. He was hurting, a lot, but she knew this was her fault. If she weren't a princess those ex-longcoats never would have chased them. Cain wouldn't have had to fight them so they could run out of that little town they had stopped in for gas, the truck wouldn't have been taken, they'd still have their gear, and he really wouldn't have been shot. This was in every way her fault.

The next time he offered to be her bodyguard she was going to say no. She couldn't take seeing him hurt like this. In fact, when this was over, she was firing his ass. He could take that job as head of security his son had been pushing him to take. If he didn't want to do that she would get him a job any freaking where he wanted as long as it didn't mean he would be hurt like this again.

Finished with the buttons she urged him to sit forward for a second and peeled the vest and his duster off in a go. When she was done she helped him lay down. Covering him with the blanket she began to straighten the room up after she tossed a couple more logs on the fire. It was chilly in here and the temperature was only going to drop as the night wore on. Fall was dangerously close to becoming winter. She was nearly done when Cain called to her in a raspy voice. "Deeg."

Setting the bloody bandages in the pot to soak she turned her head to see him. "Do you need something?" She waited anxiously for his answer and he crooked his finger at her.

Hurrying to him she bent over the bed, and in a surprisingly agile move considering his condition he wrapped his arm around her. She found herself falling through the air and then she was on the bed with him. "You need to sleep."

"I'm not done-"

"Deeg, you're shaking so bad I can see it across the room. Enough for now. The mess won't go anywhere."

Too tired to protest she nodded and turned so her back was to him. Cain tossed the blanket over her and then she snaked her arm out to turn off the lamp. Firelight flickered over the small room and his breathing slowed as he either fell asleep or passed out. Once she was sure he was out she scooted closer so her back was pressed securely against his side. It made her feel infinitely better to touch him but she was usually too shy or insecure to even try something like that. The tin man twitched then went still and her eyes fell closed. Sleep overtook her quickly as her body gave out and her last thought before she gave in was tomorrow they both needed to take a shower.

Author Note: Has anyone used this location yet? I hope not. I'm excited about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sadly I still don't own Tin Man.

He came awake with a start, confused and disoriented. It was dark and his mind flew to the worst place it could. For a brief moment he thought he was back in the suit until he realized something warm was trembling against his side and a soft murmur made its way to his ears. He relaxed and curled his arm around her shoulders as he tried to share his body heat. Deeg whimpered slightly in distress and pressed her face into the crook of his elbow before going still. Wincing he let his eyes close as the slight movement he'd made traveled down his body and to his leg. The throbbing started almost immediately.

Trying not to move he fought to get the pain under control. He hadn't been hurt this badly in a long time and there wasn't a healer anywhere close. Not that Deeg hadn't done exactly what she had to. He owed his life to her and he knew it. Not only had she dragged him in here while on the verge of her own collapse she had dressed his leg like she had years of field training as an army medic. He would love to know where she had learned to do that and how he hadn't known she could. Regardless of his lack of knowledge in that area of her education he realized they had been damn lucky with the twister.

Even once the kid's magic rebounded he knew she didn't have the proper control to get them back to Central City. It was a miracle she'd managed to get them anywhere safe at all. Not that it was her fault. He knew she'd been busting a gut trying to get her magic in line; she simply hadn't made it as far as travel storms yet. He didn't even know how she had managed to call one in the first place. He had heard Tutor telling her more than once that some spells were far beyond her current capabilities. Travel storms fell in that category. They were among the most complex spells in existence. The only explanation was desperation. They hadn't had any other way out. He would have been killed and he was sure those men would have dragged her through ten types of hell before allowing her to pass to the next life.

The thought of that happening to his girl had him dragging her closer. He had all but walked them into an ambush. He should have known better. He _did_ know better. Now they were as good as trapped here until he healed. At least he was. Deeg could make her way back to the city while he stayed here. He found he liked that plan even less than staying. Not knowing where she was sent his anxiety shooting up to nearly unbearable levels. He needed to keep her safe. He needed to keep her with him. Only problem with staying was a lack of supplies. He had no idea what was here. They could starve to death. They'd have to see what there was to work with.

The kid twitched once and then she jerked awake all at once. Head snapping up she gazed around the dark room blindly, her voice pitched low with panic. "Cain?"

"It's alright, Kiddo. I'm right here."

She levered herself up and felt for him. "How's your leg?"

"It hurts but that's probably a good thing."

"How is that good?" He felt her get off the bed and heard her search around until she found the lamp with her hands. Yellow light filled the room and her troubled blue eyes found his.

"Means the nerves are still workin'."

"Right. I knew that." Going to the med kit she opened it and pulled out a new needle. "I need to clean your leg but you need to shower first if you can. Dirt, sweat, and a wound don't mix well. I can clean your clothes while you're in there too. Nothing in the trunk will fit you and I can't sew."

"Alright." The kid sat next to him as he heaved himself upright and pulled the blanket down. Sticking him quickly she administered the drug and set the needle in the kit. Deeg was showing an odd combination of worry and competence. Wanting to calm her down he gripped her shoulder. "It's ok, Deeg." She nodded and he rubbed her arm reassuringly. "You patched me up right. It's goin' to take me a while to heal up is all."

"Shower then?" Her eyes were still dark with guilt and he sighed. Knowing the only thing that would help sooth her was helping her get him well he moved to the edge of the mattress. Without having to ask she had put his arm over her shoulders and waited for him to stand. Together they stood and he balance carefully. The shot of tarnin was already helping and he thought that as long as he didn't slam his leg into anything or fall on it he would be fine.

She helped him to the bathroom then left to retrieve the lamp. Setting it on the floor next to the small stall that had been built into the wall let them both see that the shower should at least work. He doubted there was going to be hot water however. He had a sneaking suspicion the water fed in from the lake. It wasn't going to be hot. At least he'd be clean when it was over. While he contemplated that Deeg was hunting around the small room. She managed to scrounge up soap and a ratty old towel.

Handing them to him she shifted. "Ok, awkward." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you need help?"

His lip twitched like crazy. "No."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. "Not that I wouldn't have but I feel our relationship would change once I'd seen you naked."

He barked out a laugh. "Wouldn't have been a fair look either seeing as your clothes would have stayed on."

Her eyes twinkled at him. They both enjoyed the easy banter that had developed between them and the tension suddenly drained away. He may be hurt and she might be drained, and they might both be stuck here, but at least they were alive. And now they were back to normal. "I didn't realize the O.Z. had the same principals as my world."

"Which would be?"

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

He shook his head. "Kid, I don't want to know."

She grinned and pointed to his clothes as she turned. "I'm sure you don't. Now fork over the pants. I promise not to peek."

Doing as she asked he undressed and tossed his clothes over her outstretched arm. He noticed her opposite shoulder had started to bleed sluggishly and frowned. He wasn't the only one that needed to be patched up. When his pants fell on top the pile she questioned him. "Is that it?"

"Yup." He started the water and she stepped out of the room leaving the door open. As he predicted the water was like ice and he scrubbed the grime of the last thirty-six hours off of him. Even with the water feeling like ice pelting him he took his time in order to prevent further injury. Once he was done he turned off the shower and reached for the towel. He saw the kid's arm sneak in and place his neatly folded clothes on the edge of the old stone sink.

"They're clean but I left your pants ripped. I'll need to get to you bandages."

"Thanks, Kid." Her arm disappeared and he heard her lean against the wall outside. "Are you goin' to be fussin' over me the whole time we're here?"

"Cain, you got shot in the leg and I had to burn the damn holes closed after I knocked you out with a tornado. Do you really need to ask me that question?"

"I guess not." He picked up his pants and began to dress carefully.

"That's what I thought. I don't want to hear any of your grumping about me fussing over you. It's going to happen and you're going to like it."

"I'm goin' to like it?"

"Fine, you're going to _pretend_ to like it."

Chuckling he slid his arms into his shirt and buttoned it up. Searching the sink he raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you put my socks?"

"Bedroom. You think I don't know you'd try to put them on? You'll fall over and die." Rolling his eyes he hobbled to the doorway. The kid looked over and gave him a small smile. "Do you feel better?"

After ten years slowly getting coated in rust any time he was clean he felt good. He had the feeling the girl knew that. "Other than the frostbite from the water."

"Let's get you fixed up then." Then she was dragging him back to the bed and he tried not to grumble over his handicap. This was going to get old fast. When he was settled she gazed down at his now soaked bandages and then to her hands. They were bruised, filthy, and she had dirt and blood crusted under her nails. "Gross. I think I need to shower before I touch you again."

"Off you go then. I'm not leavin'. And I need to look at your shoulder when you're done."

The girl twisted her neck around and an annoyed noise came out of her before she lifted the lid on the trunk. She dragged out a long sleeved brown shirt, tossed it to the edge of the bed, and retreated to clean herself up. He heard the water start then a muffled shriek. Apparently she hadn't believed him when he told her the water was cold. She started cursing like the most foul mouthed foot soldier he'd ever met and he couldn't keep the small grin off his face. That was his DG. Sweet as sugar one second and feisty as a wildcat the next. He'd never met anyone like her.

When she came back in patting her hair dry she was still in the shear white top she'd been wearing yesterday. Except now it was clean instead of blood splattered. It hugged her small curves and he could easily see the outline of her tiny pink corset under it. Memorizing the picture she made he stored it away in his mind with only the slightest hint of guilt. It was becoming less frequent, the shame over finding her beautiful when his wife was gone, and he had begun to slowly realize that there was more between them than simple friendship. Truth be told it had gone well beyond that for him. At some point, he wasn't entirely sure when, he'd found he'd fallen in love with her. It had been an unexpected twist in the road but hardly an unpleasant one.

He had the feeling the kid had picked up on their connection as well but she wasn't acknowledging it. He had a hunch that was his fault. He'd made no secret of the fact that he had grieved for his wife. Hell, the girl had been with him through the worst of it. At Adora's grave, during the nights he couldn't sleep, shaking him out of his nightmares when they traveled. He didn't blame her for keeping silent. Ozma knew if their roles had been reversed he would have made no move to tell her of his interest no matter how much he wanted her. If he expected anything to happen he knew he would have to be the one to bring the subject up.

As his mind busily turned that thought over yet again the girl sat down and crossed her legs under her. Tossing the bandages she had cleaned while he was in the shower next to them she pulled his leg over her lap. He watched her brow furrow in concentration as she unwrapped his leg. Setting the old wrappings in the lid of the med kit she picked up the alcohol and dabbed his burns. He grimaced but made no verbal protest. They had to keep the burn clean and she was being as gentle as she could. If he got an infection it was pretty likely that it could kill him out here without any antibiotics. When the girl was done she studied his leg before wrapping it up again.

"I'll let it air out later in the day but for now I want to be sure it doesn't start to bleed again." Finished, she set his leg carefully down on the mattress.

"You're turn."

The girl pushed the kit to him before scooting up so he could reach her. Pushing her hair over her shoulder he traced the outline of her cut. It wasn't deep, though the bruise that surrounded it was covering a rather large portion of her skin. All it needed was a bandage. Using what they had he used a thin strip of fabric over a bundle of cloth and wrapped her shoulder up after cleaning it. When he was done he rubbed her neck briefly to try to get the goosebumbs that had formed over her body to settle down. She was shaking. The water had chilled her to the bone. "All set."

"Thanks." She got up and started her cleaning again. He gave her a few minutes then shook his head.

"Kid, enough, you're goin' to freeze or collapse if you keep that up."

Deeg never stopped fluttering around the small room. "I feel funny. Like I can't sit still."

He frowned as he watched her move. "Grab that shirts and sit down." The girl balked at the request and he pushed her a little harder. "Come on, Kiddo. Sit with me. I want to be sure you're ok too." Hesitantly she picked up the shirt and put it on as she sat next to him again. He tugged her closer and buttoned the shirt up for her as he questioned her. "Has your magic bounced back yet?"

"A little bit." She gazed at him apologetically. "But I've been using it all morning. I don't have very much. Why? What do you need me to do?"

"Nothin'. Are you feeling' this way because you're drained?"

"I don't… I don't know. I was only drained one other time, after I fought the witch, but it wasn't this bad. I didn't have to use my magic for a few days after either."

Finished with the shirt he reached for the blanket and tossed it around her shoulders. Securing it he watched her shiver. "Are you cold too? Or just jittery?"

She began playing with the cuffs of the shirt nervously. "Cold too."

The girl was getting antsy for no reason. It seemed that now that she had done what she needed to do she was unraveling. He reached out and caught her jaw. Tilting her head up he grunted softly. "Look up." The kid did what he asked and he saw how dilated her eyes were. They had a glassy quality to them. It was as if she were revved up on drugs. He clicked his tongue and let her go.

Only one thing happened after you went up. You came crashing down. He didn't think it mattered that this was caused by magic and not a narcotic, he had a feeling her body would react the same way. Thinking back to the night before he remembered she had been shaking then too. Had she ever stopped?

"Deeg, I want you to lay down with me. I know you're buzzin' but I'm afraid you might collapse and I'm not goin' to be able to pick you up if you fall."

"I'll try." He could tell from her tone she was only agreeing to make him feel better. He doubted sitting still was what her body was asking her to do at the moment.

"Good girl." Laying down he settled her so she could use his shoulder as a pillow. Deeg tossed a side of the blanket over him as he relaxed. The kid stayed down but she was vibrating against him as her fingers continued to play with the cuffs of her shirt. He stroked her hair as he wondered how long this would affect her. They'd been up for well over an hour now but he wasn't sure how long they'd slept.

His calculations and comparisons to other drugs that made people react in a similar way were interrupted by a soft apology. "Sorry, Cain."

Reaching out he took her wrist and held it lightly. Her pulse was beating fast and hard even though they were lying still on the bed. "You haven't done anything."

"You shouldn't have to deal with this when you're hurt."

"Maybe you shouldn't be worried about me when you're drained." He was thinking adding anxiety to this episode wasn't helping in the slightest.

"That isn't even funny." Her legs curled up slightly.

"It wasn't a joke."

"Cain, you worry about me entirely too much."

He moved his hand to her neck to check her pulse there. "Right at this moment I don't think I am. Kid, take a few deep breaths for me."

"Why?"

"You're drain did something to you. You're heart is beatin' too fast and you've been shakin' since we got here. I need you to calm down." Her blue eyes flashed and he crooned at her. He needed to get her to relax not frighten her more. "You're ok, Darlin'." He caught her face and tilted it up so they were staring at one another. "I'm ok. I can barely even feel any pain with the tarnin. We're safe here and the fire'll keep us warm. Just breathe for me."

She nodded and took a large lungful of air. Stroking her cheek he prompted her to continue in a soft voice. A minute later and he checked her pulse again. It was slower if only slightly. "Much better." He returned to stroking her skin. "Keep goin'."

He didn't know how long they lay there before the challenge of drawing in such large breaths wore her out. She started to go limp as her eyes drooped. Checking her heartbeat he kissed her forehead when he found it had slowed to normal levels. "That's my girl." He hugged her against his side and put his chin on the top of her head. "We both need to rest. You go ahead and sleep."

Deeg closed her eyes and turned her face into his shoulder. "I really am sorry."

"Kid, none of this is your fault. You relax." She nodded and he stroked her hair. "We can worry about everything else after we've rested but right now that's what we need to do."

"Alright, Cain."

"Wyatt."

Her eyes opened as she turned her head to look at him. "What?"

"It's been nearly two years. Can you call me by my first name?"

She watched him with startled eyes. "That's alright?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He had heard her call him that last night when she was trying to get him up. It had been the only time she had used his first name that he knew of.

"I didn't… I didn't think you would like that."

He turned his head so they were nearly nose to nose. "Why?"

The kid shrugged. "I just didn't."

That made everything much more clear. "I would like that."

"Ok-" She hesitated briefly. "Wyatt."

Smiling softly he stroked her hair. That was much better. Tucking her head under his chin he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Deeg cuddled against him uncertainly. Then she went still and he felt her warm breath on the skin of his neck. Rolling his eyes downward he saw she was out and let himself follow her. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be filled with more sleeping than he'd done in ages.

Author Note: Loved the reviews! I would love some more and so would Fred! Go ahead and leave them by the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is not my property. The characters simply have a fondness for me.

Opening her eyes to the increasingly familiar darkness she dragged in a deep breath and oriented herself. The tin man was sleeping peacefully next to her and she slowly crept out from under his arm. She may feel infinitely more secure pressed against him but her stomach was protesting pretty dramatically at being ignored. Making her way out of the room as silently as she could she walked into the living area and started shuffling around. Judging from the light filtering down the…door… she thought it was mid morning. They'd been here for well over a day now.

Twenty minutes later and she decided Ahamo was the most organized pack rat she had ever encountered. Not that she could really blame him. If she had lived here for ten years she would have kept everything she could find as well. No knowing when your next batch of supplies would show up would have you hoarding things.

Searching around she came across nearly everything she could think of that they might need and more. She found a box full of papers, pens, and ink. A canister of nails with a hammer sitting on top of them, a trunk full of maps and books, a kettle, several more blankets, pillows. The broom she had attacked the consort with, blueprints, dishes, and a deck of cards. A second pair of boots, rope, a case of daggers, a gun, bullets, an ax, a canteen, a tarp, a number of glass bottles filled with she didn't know what, several tools that she didn't have a name for or even knew what they did, a fishing pole, lures, and best of all an old cane.

She nearly did a happy dance when she found it. The tin man might not like the idea of having to use it but he would be able to move around more easily. Encouraged by that find she set it aside and continued to dig. Five minutes later and she discovered an old mirror which she set next to the cane, and then when she was moving a hanging tapestry aside to get at a few of the pillows she hit gold. Well, not literally. But there was a small room hidden there. And in it were shelves and shelves of canned food. For a long minute she sat on her knees stunned. Even if half of this were bad they would be able to eat for months.

Standing up she pulled the wall hanging down and shoved it to an empty corner. Shuffling around the shelves she was looking at a jar of preserved fruit when Cain's voice ripped through the place. "DG!" Jumping at the sharp tone she spun around and leaned out of the pantry.

"What's the matter?"

There was a pause before he answered. "Come here." His voice had dropped to a far lower tone but there was still something wrong. Confused she walked into the bedroom with the jar in her hand to find Cain sitting up with his legs thrown over the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't get up whenever he pleased when his leg was about to fall off. She pointed at the mattress. "Lay back down."

When she moved forward to help him he caught her shoulders and held her tightly as he dragged her closer. "Don't do that again." His blue eyes were flashing angrily.

"Do what?" For the life of her she couldn't understand why he was suddenly and absolutely furious. "Why are you angry?"

That set him off. His shouting echoed around the small room. "I woke up and you weren't here!" He shook her. "Next time wake me up and tell me where you're goin'! I can't chase after you like this! What if somethin' happened?" He shook her harder. "Well?"

Cain had never yelled at her before. He may grumble and grouse, he may lecture her about her safety, but he had never raised his voice, not at her. Not once in two years. It didn't help that she understood why he was yelling. She suddenly felt horribly guilty for causing him to loose his temper. He was hurt bad enough. The last thing he should be worried about was what she was doing. She hadn't meant to do that. She just wanted to find something for them to eat and she'd even managed to mess that up. The tin man had almost died yesterday and she was causing him to panic because she wasn't thinking. She knew better than that. She knew how he felt about loosing sight of her, or anyone he cared about, after his time in the suit. Tears began pricking at her eyes as more emotions than she could process hit her. "I'm sorry."

"Damn it." He pulled her into a hug. "Don't cry. I didn't mean to shout." She nodded into his shoulder and bit her lip. "Deeg, I'm sorry. I'm hurt and in a temper about it." He rubbed her back apologetically.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulder she hugged him back. "It's ok. My fault. I was hungry and my brain stopped working. I didn't mean to upset you."

When she leaned back he sighed and ran his thumb under her eye. A stray tear had escaped despite her best efforts. "I don't think mine's workin' much better." He saw the jar in her hand and touched her arm. "Looks like you found somethin'."

Giving him a small smile she handed him the jar. "Yeah." Her voice was suddenly sticky sounding. "I found a hidden pantry. Big surprise. Hidden food in a secret lair."

Cain smiled slightly as he continued to stroke her face while he looked down at what she had given him. She could tell from looking at him that he still felt bad about what had happened. Moving slowly she sat down next to him and leaned into his side. "How much is there?"

"Lots. If you don't want fruit there are other things."

"This is fine. I'm amazed there's food at all."

"There's a ton of stuff." She brightened trying to forget their brief argument. "Hey! I found a cane shoved in a corner behind a broom and some blankets. You can use that instead of me."

He sighed but nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Kid."

Her smile faded away at his total lack of enthusiasm. "I know this sucks." The tin man needed to be optimistic about this or the next few weeks were going to suck for both of them. She bumped him with her shoulder. "But I found a mirror too. I should be able to contact Az or Raw with it if I try hard enough. We should have been home by now. They'll start to worry."

"Better them worryin' than us dyin'."

"Agreed, but if I can find one of them it would be good. If Jeb Can't find you half the army will be out looking for us in the wrong place. We were supposed to be out to the west not on the southern tip of the territory." An unhappy thought raced through her head. "I'm not sure how long I can keep contact if I can even find them. We might be stuck here until you're better."

Twisting the metal latch on the top of the jar he popped the glass top and held it out to her after giving it a sniff to make sure it was good. Picking out a slice of pear she chewed as he spoke. "That'll take a few weeks." He shook his head and dug out his own piece. "Maybe a month. I don't want to go anywhere until I know I can keep up with you or outrun anything chasin' us."

She nodded as she agreed with his calculations. "I think there's enough food to last us that long but you might be able to give a better estimate than me."

"I'll check when we're done eatin'. You haven't had anything since breakfast…" He shook his head. "Two days ago?"

"I don't know. I think maybe we slept longer than that." She picked out another piece of fruit and began licking the juice from her fingers. She really needed a napkin.

He looked over at her and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "You stopped shakin'. Do you feel more normal?"

She really did feel a lot better after sleeping again. "Yup, all better. That was weird."

"I figure rippin' out part of yourself doesn't feel real good." He tipped the jar to her again. "I thought your heart was goin' to jump out of your chest."

"I thought I was going to start to hover. It would have been exciting."

His lip twitched. "Right up until you keeled over."

"Pessimist."

"Optimist."

"Grump."

"Clown."

"Meany."

"Liar."

"Cowboy."

"Princess."

She started to laugh and stuck out her tongue. "Why do you always have to get nasty?"

He tapped her hip. "Truth hurts, Deeg."

"You're twisting a knife in my heart. That's what you're doing right now."

He grinned. "Alright. Enough of your royalty based melodrama." She threw a hand over her heart dramatically. "Go get me my stick and the mirror. I want to get out of this room after you talk to your sister."

"Is that what you're going to refer to it as? Because I have to tell you that has some questionable connotations for me."

"Such as?"

Unable to help herself she laughed as she got up and walked to the doorway. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned against it. She got perverse pleasure out of making him blush. "Remember that talk we had about chickens? And how we needed to refer to those particular fowl as chickens and not anything else? Remember that?" He rolled his eyes and she grinned mischievously. "Same thing."

"Kid." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Still, she could hear the amusement in his tone. "How did you develop a mind that so often ends up in the gutter?"

"You say that like I'm perverted when really you're even worse than me."

"Excuse me? I'm not the one that can associate a walking sti-" He broke off when her smile broadened. "-cane with sex."

"Hey, I say what I'm thinking. You on the other hand keep all those naughty fantasies locked up tight." They watched each other and she knew she had him. "I'm sure yours are much worse than any of mine. Wanna share? We can see who's more creative." She waggled her eyebrows teasingly.

"No." He pointed toward the promised cane.

She pouted. "You're no fun." But she let it go knowing he had dug his heels in. She could occasionally get him to unstick those boots of his on a subject but she saved her energy for the important things. Idle banter wasn't worth the effort. Walking to the room she scooped up the cane and the mirror before returning to give it to the tin man.

"There you go."

With a nod of thanks he set it against the wall as she dropped down beside him and crossed her legs. Setting the mirror in her lap she rolled her neck and took a deep breath before wrapping her fingers around the edges. She had only done this one other time and it hadn't ended real well. Touching her magic she directed it into the glass as she exhaled. The mirror began to ripple as if it were a puddle that had been disturbed by a pebble and she felt the tin man lean over her shoulder.

Staring deep into their reflection she verbally told the magic what she wanted. She found it was easier to control that way even if Toto had been trying to break her of the habit for months. "Find Az."

The mirror heaved under her hands and she tightened her grip. The spell was trying to break out of her control. She repeated the command more firmly. "Find Azkadilla Gale. Now!"

There was a thrum followed closely by a flash then a picture solidified. Her sister was pacing agitatedly in a parlor with her mother and Jeb in the background. "My dear, you must try to be calm. I'm sure-"

"Az!" She knew they had less than thirty seconds. Three heads swiveled toward them and she thought they were being reflected in a window.

"Dad?"

"My Angel?"

"Baby sister!" Her sister's dark eyes filled the space.

"Az, we're safe but Cain's hurt and we're stuck in A-" The mirror fractured all over and the entire surface went dark and smoky as the spell ended. "-hamo's tepee."

Cain grunted. "Damn." Dropping the two pieces in her lap her shoulders drooped. That hadn't even been ten seconds. She should have been able to do better than that. He patted her shoulder. "That's alright. They know we're alive now."

"Yeah."

"Hey." He rubbed her uninjured shoulder. "That was great, Kid." She shot him a look that clearly told him she knew he was lying to her. "None of that." He pushed her up. "Let's see what kind of food there is."

"Ok." Standing up she hovered next to him anxiously as he picked up the walking stick and got up. The last thing she wanted was for him to fall over but he had a better natural sense of balance than she did. Even with his weight on one leg he was perfectly fine. If it had been her she would have already toppled to the ground twice. Once she was sure he was set they headed out into the main room and Cain huffed out a laugh. "What?"

"Did you let loose another travel storm in here?"

Her eyes swept over the room and she chewed on her lip. She could see what he was saying. She may have made a bit of a mess when she was exploring. The floor was pretty much covered from one wall to another with the things she had found. "I was going to clean up."

Cain ran his hand through his hair as a smile played over his lips. "Where's the pantry?" She pointed to a wall hidden by one of the support beams and the tin man began to pick his way over to it as his eyes scanned the items on the floor. He paused a few times and at one point he stared at a glass vile she hadn't been able to categorize for a long minute. When she bent to pick it up he caught her and shook his head. "Don't touch that."

She straightened. Since they'd met she'd found it was best to listen when he told her something like that. "Why?"

"It's a high powered explosive."

"_What?_" She had definitely pulled that out of a box pretty uncaringly.

Cain growled under his breath. "I'm goin' to go through this stuff with you. The last thing I need is you blowing yourself up. I prefer you in one piece."

"I'm with you on that one."

Shaking his head he continued on to the pantry and stopped in the threshold with a hum of approval. Moving forward he set the cane to the side and hoped to the first of the shelves. Picking up a can he looked it over critically before setting it down. After a moment of sorting he made a request. "Can you get me an empty box? I'll go ahead and get rid of everything that's turned. No point in us gettin' sick on accident."

"Sure thing." Leaving for a few minutes she picked her way across the trashed room with far more care than she had previously and got a box she had emptied out earlier. Returning to him she found that he had managed to find a lamp hanging from the ceiling and lit it. Holding it between them he set seven cans in it and began to clear a space on one of the shelves so she wouldn't need to hold it. Sliding the box on it she stood next to him as he systematically filled the box. When it was full he hadn't even made it across one wall and she sighed. Her guess about how much food they had wasn't really all that accurate.

"Might be better to assign one wall to things we shouldn't eat."

"How long is this stuff going to last?"

The tin man shrugged. "Two weeks give or take. More if we can manage to get fish or game." He looked over at her. "In a day or two I'll be able to get up the ladder."

"You can't go hunting with your leg the way it is." She didn't care how stubborn he was. She wasn't about to let him hurt himself any worse.

"No, but I can show you how to set traps. That's not hard and there should be plenty of rabbits around here. And even with my leg I can fish."

She leaned into a shelf. "Only if you promise to stay near the tepee." He raised a pale eyebrow and she continued. "You can't run. If someone shows up and we have to fight the only thing we can do is hide in here and use the entrance as a bottleneck." She gazed out at the mess as she spoke. She was still trying to deal with killing those men. She hated it more than anything. Having to do it. They weren't the first either. "I really don't think I can call another travel storm if something happens. That was just… lucky."

"Alright."

She was relieved he wasn't going to argue about this. "Thanks." Her voice had gone distant as she fell into her thoughts.

His arm was around her suddenly and pulling her against him. Caught off guard she stumbled and hit his chest. Unconcerned his other arm snaked around her waist. "Deeg, they would have killed you if you hadn't fought and they wouldn't have made it easy on you either. They would have played with you first." His arms tightened when a shudder of fear ran down her spine. He pressed his cheek against the side of her head. "I know it hurts a part of you to kill but don't feel guilty about protectin' yourself. You did what you had to and there's no shame in it."

She nodded wordlessly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It makes me feel sick when I do."

"That's because you're human and a sweet one on top of it. I'm sorry you had to choose again. I'm sorry we got stuck in that situation." He stroked her hair. "But it's over now. They won't be able to hurt either of us ever again. If you need to talk about it all you have to do is tell me like always." His hands tangled in her curls. "Do you want to talk?"

"Not really." Her arms tightened around him. She wasn't going to ask him to hold her but she'd allow herself one more second before drawing away. She never could fool Cain. When her arms began to loosen he held her closer and kissed her temple. Relaxing into him she hid her face in his neck and breathed him in. He smelled like oil, and the forest, and comfort.

After several long minutes of him doing his best to make her feel better he kissed her forehead and eased her away enough that they could look at one another. "How about I finish this and we can see what other oddities Ahamo managed to collect while he was livin' here?"

"Ok. Maybe you can tell me what some of the stuff is."

"I'll do my best." He winced slightly. "In the meantime do you think you can find anymore pain killers in that med kit? Feels like my leg's on fire."

Nodding she untangled herself from him, and after a brief inner battle, kissed his cheek in thanks. He smiled warmly at her and returned to the shelves. It shouldn't take him too long to finish and then she would be able to distract herself with more Outer Zone wackiness.

Author Note: There is a ton of love going on for this story. Fred and I are quite pleased. Also we would like to apologize for the 'your - you're' incident. We may have been distracted while proof reading. In the future no talking on aim about getting Harry Potter midnight show tickets while doing that. It might help but I feel this is a reasonable excuse. I hope you all understand the urgency of what was going on. And for those of you that don't… Well, there might be something seriously wrong with you.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: … Is there a way to make this mine? I mean really? Ideas? Suggestions? Ways to blackmail the actual owners?

Three days he'd been awake and trapped down here and he was ready to snap. He could handle a lot of things. He could handle the Headcase's machinery blowing holes in the palace walls. He could handle Furball trying to get him to talk about his feelings. He could handle systematically tearing through every barrier that had gone up between him and his son and he could handle the kid's never ending array of questions. But so help him if he didn't get out of this damn hole he was going to start shooting and nothing short of divine intervention was going to stop him until he was dead or this lace flooded enough for him to float out of the top.

He watched Deeg unwrap his leg and begin to clean his injury. She made a soft sound of disapproval and leaned in for a better look. "What?" He practically snarled at her.

Her blue eyes came up to his in surprise. "It's starting to swell. Either it's getting infected, which I doubt since hasn't changed color, or you've been on it too much." She patted his knee. "I'll leave the bandage off and prop it up on some pillows. It should be better tomorrow. By better I mean not swollen."

He glared daggers at her. "No."

Her forehead crinkled. "No? No, what?"

"I'm not staying in here anymore."

Her eyebrow arched. "Uhhh, yeah, you are."

"Deeg, I'm leaving."

She lunged at him as he was sitting up. Her momentum combined with his position allowed her to pin him. Before he had registered her movement she was in his lap and had his arm pinned against the wall next to his sides. His girl's eyes flashed and he growled at her sudden aggressive turn. "Wyatt Cain, I swear if you test me on this one of us is going to get hurt and it won't be me."

"Get off." He felt his eyes frost over.

"Not a chance in hell."

"DG!"

"Wyatt!" Her spine was stiff and she had thrown her shoulders back. "Do you want to keep your leg? Because if not I can go ahead and lop it off now and save myself the trouble of keeping it attached to the rest of you!"

"I can't stay in this damn pit anymore!"

Her eyes softened in understanding and she let go of his arms. Reaching up she stroked his face. "I promise tomorrow I'll help you go outside but I don't want you to get worse. We need to get the swelling down."

"Kid, this place is driving me crazy."

"I know." She sighed and he found himself wrapping his arms around her hips to calm himself down. His girl was good at helping to ground him. "It makes you feel closed in and I'm sorry but I'm not a healer. I can't make you better the way Raw can. We have to do this the regular human way. Unfortunately the human way means you have to suck it up and be patient."

He didn't miss the irony of the kid telling him to be patient. "Fine." He was grumbling worse than a bear waking up in spring.

Her fingers caressed his cheeks as she looked into his eyes. He saw worry in them as she watched him. "How bad is the claustrophobia getting?"

He didn't want to answer that because then he would have to think about it. "You're fussin' again."

"You're freaking out on me. The fussing is an automatic response to said freaking."

"I don't freak out."

Her lip twitched. "Ok, Tin Man." She patted his cheek. "Can I finish now?"

Unwrapping his arms he sighed. "Go ahead."

Slipping off his lap carefully she sat on the bed and pulled his leg over her lap again. Rubbing a salve over the wounds she glanced up at him and he saw her fighting some sort of inner battle. Finally she came to a decision. "Wyatt, if I help you go outside do you promise to sit with your leg up?"

"Yes."

She eyed him. "I mean it. You have to stay still."

"I promise." Anything to get out of here for a while.

"Ok." Standing up she went to the trunk where she had folded his vest and duster. Giving them to him he put them on while she got his boots and holster. Once he was dressed she helped him up and threw his arm over her shoulders instead of letting him use his walking stick. He knew why. She wanted to be sure he wasn't putting any weight on his leg at all.

Slowly they made their way to the ladder. At least the path was clear. It had taken them two days to clean up and sort through everything in this place. Between the sheer amount of things in the tepee, as Deeg had termed it, and how quickly he was worn out it had taken them some time. The girl had made him lie down and rest every few hours. He had protest out loud but internally he was grateful. He needed the sleep.

He was astounded with the amount of things the consort had managed to shove into such a small space. He was also impressed with how many useful things he had managed to horde away. Everything he and Deeg could need was here with the exception of a long term food source. They had at least ten days of supplies left but he was going to have to show her how to hunt soon or they were going to have a problem.

Reaching the first rung Deeg muttered under her breath and his eyebrow twitched up. He thought she was making a bigger problem out of this than she needed to. It wasn't that high a climb and he had plenty of hand and foot holds. Reaching up he grabbed a rung and began to pull himself up. His girl made an anxious noise. "I was supposed to go first! What if something is up there?"

"I'll shoot it and then we'll have lunch."

"Don't put any weight on your leg!"

He shook his head. "You're scaring away our lunch."

"Wyatt!" Her whine filled the circular room and he stared down at her. She was pacing around the ladder like a caged lion. He had rarely seen the kid this keyed up before. "Be careful!"

"I'm bein' careful. Relax."

"Relax? Seriously? You're telling me to relax right now?" Her pacing increased to the point that watching her made him dizzy. Turning his attention up he completed the short climb and straddled the top of the log dome as the brisk wind nipped at him. Letting his injured leg dangle in the hole he looked around, searching for any sign of danger, as the girl began climbing up after him quickly.

Her head popped out next to his hip and he glanced down at her. He wasn't the only one that was paranoid. Her blue eyes were darting around the nearby bushes and trees as she glowed, a sure sign she was tense, and he reached over and put his hand on the top of her head. He already felt better, his stress melting away at the smell of fresh air and the sight of open ground. "It's alright. Nothin' here but us."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

With a nod she climbed out and sat beside him on the edge of the logs. "Do you feel better?"

"I do now."

The kid shot him a small smile and pointed down and to the left. There was a small patch of scraggly grass between the bottom of the logs and the surrounding rocks. A few feet in front of the area the rock face dropped off a few feet and the lake began. The area looked to be just big enough for him to stretch out on. "Do you want to sit over there? That way you can see everything and stay out of the wind."

He nodded and slid slowly toward the spot. Deeg watched him until he was down then vanished when he settled himself. A few minutes later and she returned in an oversized coat with the shabbiest of the pillows and the fishing rod. Jumping down next to him she handed him the rod and proceeded to prop up his leg. When she was done she plopped down on a sheet of rock next to his elbow and stretched out on her stomach.

"I take it you're tired of preserved food?"

Laying her head on her curled up arms she smiled at him. "Something that didn't come out of a can wouldn't go wrong. You're the exception to that rule."

His lip twitched. "Bait would help."

"Oops." Twisting her arm she reached onto the pocket of the jacket and handed him a lure. "Will that work?"

"Should. Let's see what happens." He had made sure the line was good a few days before and after sitting forward he cast the line awkwardly. It may not have been the prettiest throw but the line went out a good twenty yards and bobbed in the small waves. He sat back and they began the waiting game. While he waited for a fish to bite Deeg stretched and looked out over the water. Her hair blew over her face and he thought she looked beautiful bundled up in the coat she'd found.

The girl interrupted his thoughts. "Is there a chance you'll catch anything?"

"No reason I won't. Lake this big should be full of fish. It's a matter of luck is all. Fish don't bite as much when it gets cold like this."

"Ok."

He glanced at his leg then at her. "Where'd you learn to patch up ex-tin men?" The question had been niggling at the back of his mind for days now.

"Huh?" Her eyes were on the opposite shore.

"You fixed my leg. Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Before the travel storm picked me up I was training to be a nurse."

He'd never heard that term before. "A nurse?"

"I guess the closest thing here would be a field medic but it's not exactly the same. It's a little closer to an alchemist but that's not really right either."

He understood the gist of what she was saying. "You wanted to heal?"

She shrugged. "I always liked helping people. I think I would have been happy doing that even if it wasn't the easiest job. I was good at it too." A smile flickered over her face. "I was the best one in my class."

Her assertion caught him off guard. He had never heard Deeg boast about anything before. When she did something right, or in most cases downright amazing, she did her best to pretend it hadn't been any trouble at all. But his girl was really and truly proud of being top of her class. "I'm sure you were."

The kid seemed to realize what she had said and blushed. Turning her head the other way she looked down the shoreline. "Anyway, it came in handy right?"

"My leg's still on me."

She laughed softly. "Thus far." Her head came around to his again. "If you quit moving it might stay that way."

"Yeah, I got it, Deeg. Listen to you and I'll get better."

Her laughter rang over the water and he shook his head. "Just want to drive that point home."

"Hush, you'll scare off our dinner."

She rolled her eyes but didn't push the issue any farther. Shifting she pulled the sleeves of the jacket over her hands and yawned. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. He knew she wasn't going to leave him out here alone and she didn't deal with cold anywhere near as well as he did. Last winter when they had gone to the Ice Palace for a meeting she had nearly frozen to death in her own room. She had knocked on his door at three in the morning wrapped in a thick blanket shivering so bad he thought her bones were going to rattle away. It had taken him two hours, three blankets, a steaming pot of tea, and her practically sitting in his fireplace to get her warm again. He'd never seen her that embarrassed before but he had been too worried about her dying to care about her state of mind.

He wasn't entirely sure why she had such a poor tolerance to the cold. He had asked her about the climate she had lived in on the Otherside and she had told him they had snow every winter. It wasn't as if the girl had grown up in the tropics but her body sure thought she had. Maybe it was her size. She was a tiny little thing. No insulation on her at all. Then again with the way she had reacted to her drain it could be her magic. Maybe using it sucked the heat out of her. Whatever the reason he'd have to be sure they went in before she caught a chill no matter how much he wanted to be outside.

As he was thinking that the pole jerked in his hand and he grunted in surprise. That hadn't taken long at all. The girl raised her head with interest as he began to reel the line in. A moment later and he caught sight of a silver fin breaking the water and Deeg patted his shoulder as he dragged the fish closer to their spot. "Wow, that thing is huge." Muttering his agreement he wrenched on the line as it began to fight and started to stand. "No! Wyatt! No, you promised!"

Scrambling forward she came up behind him and grabbed the rod to help him pull so he didn't have to stand up. After several seconds struggling the fish flew out of the water and they both tumbled backwards. He landed over her with a grunt and she squeaked as he fell over top of her. Throwing his elbow under him he hoisted himself off her. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You got dinner."

They did. Reaching over he grabbed the end of the line and lifted it to a nearby rock as it flopped around. He was pleased with what he had managed to catch. The silver and green carp was at least five pounds. It would be a big meal for them. "Go grab me one of those knives, Kiddo."

"Ok." She was gone in a blur of movement and he carefully removed the lure from its mouth. There was no point in making the animal suffer. Deeg came back a few minutes later with the knife he had asked for along with a battered old pan. Handing him the hilt he took it and motioned to the space next to him with his head.

"Sit down. I'll show you how to do this in case you need to."

Her nose wrinkled up but she did what he said. He knew she didn't have much desire in learning to gut a fish but this was about survival not amusement. Pointing to the head he told her what he thought she would find most important. "Make sure the first cut is quick and clean. That'll kill it fast then if you mess up later it won't matter to anyone but you. You don't want to hurt it more than you need to."

"You're not going to make me do this to the bunnies are you? Because they're all fuzzy. You know how I feel about fuzzy things."

He killed the fish before he answered. "No. The trap will do that for you. It's designed to break their necks."

"Geez, poor bunnies. The only thing worse than that is cute little puppies." The kid sighed longingly. "I always wanted a puppy." Shaking his head he proceeded to show her how to skin and gut it. She watched attentively and asked a few questions as they went along. When he was done he set the pieces they were going to eat on the pan and baited the lure with a few of the pieces they weren't. "What are you doing?"

"Only took me twenty minutes to catch that last one and the only thing I was using was a lure. It'd be smart to try to catch more while we can." Finished baiting the lure he cast the line a second time before pointing out to the north. "Storm's comin'. With the way it feels out here we'll probably get some snow. Any extra ones we catch we can smoke over the fire. They'll keep for at least a few days once we do that. If we get snowed in I don't want to worry about runnin' out of food."

"I do get testy when I'm hungry."

He smirked. "I know."

She stuck her tongue out at him and sat down on her perch. "You shut up and fish." Leaning against the base of the logs she muttered under her breath. "Grumpy ass making fun of me for my one freaking vice." His lip twitched as she continued to grouse at him. "Dragged you all the way up here even though it was a bad idea and you start making fun of me. I hope the next fish you catch takes a bite out of you."

"That's sweet."

"Don't talk to me." She tugged her legs up to her chest. "You're a contemptible man."

"Pullin' out the big words now?" He shifted to get more comfortable as they quipped. "You must be angry."

"You know, you're lucky you put food on the table. That's all I have to say to you."

Grinning he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist fast as lightning. She yelped as he dragged her off her rock and down next to him. "I may have caught the first one." He dragged her over his good leg and set her in front of him so he wouldn't topple over her again. He'd feel pretty rotten if he smashed her to death after all the trouble she went to keeping him from bleeding out. Handing her the pole he put it in her hands. "But I'm sure you can get the next one."

The girl sniffed confidently. "Mine'll be bigger." He laughed out loud and leaned forward so he could kiss her cheek. The kid blushed faintly and batted at him with her free hand. "Stop that. None of your charm while I'm trying to beat you."

His eyebrow quirked up. "You think I'm charming?"

She rolled her eyes. "In an bothersome sort of way." She focused on the fishing line as if she could will the fish to hit. "Now be quiet. I'm trying to focus."

Putting his arms around her middle he went still as he watched her hair blow around her shoulders. She had no idea how charming he could be if he put his mind to it. Admittedly he was at a bit of a disadvantage trapped out here in the woods with only a hole as a place to stay and a bum leg but he could start on the groundwork. He wouldn't be able to get her flowers or jewelry out here. He couldn't even take her out for a nice dinner the way he wanted to. He enjoyed pampering the girl when she let him. She was always so happy when he thought to get her something. The kid never expected presents and when she got one, no matter what it was, her eyes would light up like stars. But the one thing this place did offer was a chance to spend time with her. He could work with that and he would.

Author Note: I love when my inbox is full. Will you fill it for me? Please?


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. Nothing else is either.

Cocking her head to the side she watched the tin man hang the three fish they had caught over a low burning fire. She thought the last five hours had been pretty fun considering they couldn't move around very much. The tin man was certainly in a better mood than he'd been in for a few days. Getting out may not have been the best plan for his leg but it had done his head a world of good. She wasn't worried that he was going to go bonkers and start tearing the place down around their ears at the slightest provocation anymore. Now he was sitting calmly taking care of the food they had managed to snag.

Neither of the two fish she had caught had been bigger than the first one Cain had got but they were decently plump. Then the tin man had caught the last one and she had simply stared at it. It was orange. She wasn't talking dark orange, or brownish orange, or even the color of the fruit. The fish was freaking neon, glow in the dark, it's been covered in toxic waste orange. She was worried the creature from the black lagoon was close behind. At her alarmed expression he looked down at the fish and asked her what was the matter.

Clearly this was not an issue in his book so she had let it go. She was probably lucky the thing only had one head. Two years and this place still threw surprises at her. Now he had a thin metal pole pushed through their gills and their guts cleared out. The whole process had been icky in her book, not to mention smelly, and when they were done he had dumped all the remains into the lake before washing his hands. He said they didn't need bears or mountain lions paying them a visit. She agreed with that even if she found raccoons more likely.

When he had the extra fish at the height he wanted them at he took the fish they would be eating today and tossed it in a pan over the coals he had stoked up. It started to sizzle almost immediately and he added a can of mushrooms over it. It smelled delicious and she found herself edging nearer to him as he cooked. He caught sight of her sneaking closer and swatted at her with the spatula in order to keep her away from the skillet. "I'm not goin' to let you get sick on raw fish. Sit down and wait until it's done."

She pouted as her stomach whined. Giving up at his hard eyed stare she retreated to a nearby beam and sat down. She really did become a pathetic creature when her stomach was empty. Days without sleep weren't an issue. She could walk for miles on end without a break. She could sit through meetings that would put even the most seasoned politician into a coma. Hell, she could burn the tin man back together without hesitation when she had to. But when she got hungry she became a totally different person. A sad person. A pitiful person that was not above begging or batting her eyes to get what she wanted.

"Wyatt, I'm hungry."

He was unfazed by her big eyed stare. "You'll live ten minutes." She sighed and watched him flip the fish over. "I swear I've never seen anyone act the way you do around food and we spend most of our time around resistance fighters."

Untrue. "Former resistance fighters."

"Regardless, none of them go at food like starvin' alley cats."

She bristled. "Did you compare me to an alley cat?"

"A starvin' one. Don't feel bad. I always liked cats." Rolling her eyes she took a look at the fish and got up to get a few plates and forks. She didn't want to wait longer than she had to once it was done. When she was finished gathering cutlery she filled a few glasses with water and sat down next to him as he was scooping half the food onto her plate. Smiling happily she sat against the wall and lifted her fork to her mouth before pausing. He was chewing when he caught her glaring. "What?"

"Where's your pillow?"

Looking around absently he pointed with his fork. Following his line of sight she sighed and set her food down as she went to the ladder to get it. Only the health of the tin man could get her to set down hot food when she was hungry. Returning to him she put it under his leg and retreated to her plate. Since she had food she would forgive him for not taking care of himself properly. Speaking of food. She started eating and didn't stop until her entirely too full plate was clean. Making a happy noise she set it to the side and stretched out over the rug she had been sitting on. For the first time since they got here she was completely full. And she wasn't just full she was stuffed. There was no way she could fit another bite of food down.

The tin man chuckled and she cracked an eye open. "That was wonderful, Wyatt." He was much better at cooking than she was even if she had him beat on eating. And she was really enjoying this name change he had insisted on.

"I can tell by the way you stopped movin'."

Smiling she rolled her head and wriggled until she was comfortable. Staring up at the ceiling she wanted to be sure he was as content as she was at this moment. "How's your leg?"

"Feels fine."

"That's good." Her voice was getting dreamy with contentment as the heat from the fire began to seep into her and she drifted into a food coma. While the tin man may have been asleep more than he'd been awake she hadn't. After the affects of her drain had passed she had barely been able to rest at all. She was too stressed out over the situation they had found themselves in to sleep properly and the few times she had her nightmares had woken her up. She kept seeing the men she had killed. It wasn't conducive to proper napping and she had begun curling silently into the tin man while they were on the bed together. She always moved when she felt him waking up but she couldn't express how much better it made her feel to have him against her. At least when they were touching she could doze.

She was starting to do just that when a resounding boom echoed around the room so loudly the ceiling shook. She sat bolt upright as Cain continued to eat passively. His blue eyes flickered up toward the hole in the ceiling. "Storm's here."

She was glad he told her. Shaking her head she rolled to her feet and went to the ladder curiously. Sure enough she could see dark ominous clouds looming over them from the round portal and was insanely glad they were inside. Then she frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Uhhh, Wyatt?"

"Yeah?"

"How are we supposed to stop the snow from falling in here?"

There was a pause. "Damn." She heard him getting up and didn't stop him as she started up the ladder. This was crazy. There was no reason Ahamo would have built this place in a way that it could be flooded by a summer downpour or he would be trapped by tons of snow. Starting at the base of the logs she systematically began searching for some sort of door as she balanced. The consort was sneaky. He must have hidden something somewhere because they hadn't found anything that would work as a stopper in the room below her and she hadn't seen anything outside either. "Do you see anything?"

"Not yet." Her hands ran over the wood meticulously. Afraid of missing something small she took her time and it started to snow while she was looking. Ignoring the freezing flakes landing on her head and shoulders she made her way to the last row of logs. She was about to give up when her fingers brushed an impression in the wood. Instantly optimistic she leaned closer for a better look. Sure enough the dent wasn't a dent. It was a handle of some kind. Wriggling her fingers forward she gripped it and chirped down at him. "I think I found it!"

Yanking on it a portion of the log wall slid inward and straight at her face. Letting out a yelp she dropped out of the way in order to avoid her cranium from getting smashed like a watermelon under a hammer. She slid down three rungs as the logs closed over her head and barely managed to catch herself before smashing into the ground. Her arm was hooked over one of the rungs and she felt the tin man's hands on a part of her anatomy she was fairly certain he had never touched before as the hole above her shut.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Her head bobbed and she glanced down at him. "Umm, hand check."

His hand flew off her butt and she swore she saw his ears turn pink in the low light of the room. "Sorry, Deeg."

"Yeah right. We both know you enjoyed coping a feel."

He took a step away when he was sure she was stable and she slid to the ground. "Can't say I have any criticisms."

Poking his arm gently she went back to the rug she had claimed as her own. "That makes me feel pretty. You don't have any criticisms? What a heart felt and clinical assessment of a perfectly praise worthy part of my body." Laying down she closed her eyes as he picked his plate up again as he finished the last few pieces of fish. "And prop up your leg."

She heard him shift and repressed a smile as he did what she ordered. "I apologize for the neutral commentary."

"Whatever. My butt is hurt by the remark." He chuckled and set his plate over hers as another peal of thunder sounded over them. "I hate that it does that when it snows here."

"Does what?"

"The thunder. It only does that when it rained on the Otherside. Except for this one time when I was fifteen. It's spooky."

"Never thought about it." Opening her eyes she watched him lean over and add another few sticks to the fire to keep the coals hot. When he sat back she twisted until she was on her stomach and wiggled over to him. He watched her calmly used to her bouts of unprincess like behavior and held still as she untied his bandages. Setting them to the side she gently prodded his leg and was pleased to see the swelling that had caused her so much anxiety this morning was practically gone.

Humming her approval she left the bandages off and rolled up his pant leg. There was no reason to have it irritate the wounds when he shifted around. Tucking the material tightly she rubbed his leg briefly to make sure blood was flowing to all the tissue. "It looks a lot better. In a couple of days you should be able to start walking on it again." She looked up at him and pointed. "Only a little bit."

"A few miles then."

"Wyatt! You know that isn't what I meant! Maybe around the tepee a couple of times."

"How about around the outside of it?"

She stuck her hand up to him and he took it in his. "Deal." They shook and she flopped down next to him with a yawn and the crown of her head pressed against his thigh.

"You've been doin' that all day."

She mumbled into the rug. "All day? Hardly. You've only been up for six hours."

He grumbled. "Then you've been yawnin' that long. Didn't you get enough sleep?"

"Uhuh, I'm good. The fishing was too exciting. Tuckered me right out."

"Liar."

"Don't judge me."

"Last time I did that you hit me."

"You deserved that."

"Why did I deserve that?"

"You judged me."

"Deeg, that dress was horrible." Without looking up from the carpet hit him lightly in the ribs. "Hey!"

"What did I say?"

"Would you have rather I let you walk out in front of all those visitin' nobles in that thing? Who made that thing? The frills on it weighed more than you do."

"Ignorance is bliss. I was paranoid for the rest of the week."

His fingers were suddenly dancing down her scalp. "I would have told you if you looked bad."

She twitched and she knew she sounded slightly anxious but she wasn't real good with fashion. "Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks." She mumbled. "Sorry about the smack. It was undeserved."

"I'm countin' it toward the next one you feel I earned."

"Fair."

He chuckled and patted her head. "This fish is done. Seein' as we're stuck down here and I feel like I just ran twenty miles after climbin' a mountain why don't we go take a nap. By the looks of it you could use one too." While he spoke he banked the fire to prevent anything from going up in flames while they slept.

Well, she could try to sleep. If this was anything like the last few times her body would eventually give out and the nightmares would go away on their own after a few false starts. "Sounds good." Sitting up she let him throw his arm over her shoulder and they both stood with practiced ease. As they made their way to the bed she comment on their current living situation. "I feel like we flashed forward fifty years into the future. Both of us are old and in need of constant naps. Except I was picturing our retirement in a more hospitable and luxurious location."

"That would only make you seventy three."

"And you ninety two."

He raised an eyebrow as they walked into the bedroom. "So I would be slightly over middle age?"

She shook her head and restated the comment. "I should have said on the Otherside. I don't care what Glitch told me about the magic laced water. I swear this aging thing is weird."

"Naw, it's just you, Kid."

"That was the freebie smack. You made it longer than I thought you would."

"Me too."

She smiled as she sat him on the edge of the bed. Bending down she tugged off his boots as he shrugged out of his duster. His holster and vest followed and she took everything from him before retreating to the trunk and folding it. Momster had drilled chores and neatness into her head for as long as she could remember. It was senseless to fight the impulses to tidy things up. When she was finished she removed her own shoes and the jacket she had found and placed them next to the tin man's things.

Lighting a fire she made sure it would warm the room for a while before it went out and crawled into the bed. When she laid down Cain turned over and wrapped the blanket around her while pulling her against his chest. Blinking across the room at the sudden closeness at her back she stayed still. Then he kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He hummed and put his chin over her head. Feeling appreciated and safe tucked against him she closed her eyes and listened to his breathing get deep and even. Slowly relaxing in the loose embrace she felt herself drifting off and sighed gratefully. She wanted to sleep so badly. She would be a much happier person. If she were happier she would be able to keep the tin man happier and that was all that mattered right now. Getting Cain healthy was her number one priority. Tomorrow if it had stopped snowing she would have him show her how to set traps.

That would be good. More food coming in and it would allow him some private time while she was out. She knew he preferred to spend his free time with her, she felt the same way about him, but she also knew that he needed space every now and then. When they were home he would disappear down to the back of Glitch's lab at least once or twice a week for the afternoon. The advisor, much to everyone's surprise, never bothered him and he had turned one of the spare rooms into a small workshop. She hadn't given much thought to the small anvil and hammer that had been at the cabin when she had found him but after over six month of him vanishing she had given into her curiosity and knocked on the door and waited to see if he would let her in. She had decided on the way there that if he didn't she wouldn't go back but she couldn't stop herself from trying one time.

He had opened the door and his lip had twitched up at the corner. "Now, I thought you'd be down here about four and a half months ago."

She leaned against the wall making sure to keep her eyes firmly on him. She may be dying to know what was behind him but she wasn't going to go there unless he gave her permission. "I didn't want to invade your space."

He had assessed her for a moment then stepped aside. "Do you want to see what I'm makin'?"

"So much I feel I may go insane if you don't show me."

He laughed at her honesty and let her follow him inside. Her eyes darted around the room and she liked it instantly. It was about the same size as her old bedroom had been at the farmhouse and one wall was taken up with a large forge. Another wall was covered with a number of metal working tools on shelves and hooks. Cain pointed to a stool under a beat up wooden table and she pulled it out and sat down as she took in the smell of the place. He walked to an equally battered cabinet and opened it. She saw a number of lumps of assorted metal piled up at the bottom but he reached up to the one shelf at the very top and removed a folded white handkerchief.

Walking over to her he set it down between them and sat on a second stool. "Jeb asked me to make him somethin' a few months back. Been workin' on them since. It's takin' some time. Delicate little things and I haven't worked with metal in awhile."

She had tilted her head and reached out in question. "May I?"

"Go on then."

Lifting a corner of the fabric square she sucked in a breath and glanced up at him quickly. Two beautifully crafted gold bands sat on the center of the handkerchief. "Are these wedding rings?"

"You think it's a shock? I still see him as an eight year old most of the time." He smiled ruefully as he ran a hand through his short hair.

"Oh, Cain." Standing up she hugged him quickly. "Congratulations." With one last squeeze she moved back to her seat. "These are gorgeous." She barely drew a breath between words. "Are you happy? Is he nervous? Does Laura know or is it a surprise?"

He smiled at her. "No, she doesn't know and yes, he's edgy. Boy spent most of his life on the edge of a knife without so much as batting an eye and he's nearly sick with nerves."

"She'll say yes."

"I know that. Deep down he does too. He's still nervous. It's a big step. He'll be a good husband to her. Laura's as good a girl as anyone could get. If he doesn't treat her right he'll have me to deal with."

Taking that to mean he approved of the match, she knew he had a soft spot for the orphaned red head, she smiled and carefully picked up the ring meant for Jeb's partner. The way the tin man had made it was amazing. The closest design she had ever seen to this was something Celtic but it wasn't exactly the same. The metal twisted and swayed in a complex pattern that closely resembled a flower. Her eyebrows came together. "Is this the yellow flower that grows on the vines? The… the… umm… sunblossom?"

Cain was pleased. She'd been working on learning everything from history to popular culture around here and she was making a certain amount of progress. "Good. If you recognize it then I did it right. Jeb told me it was her favorite flower. He wanted it on the ring if I could work out a way to do it."

"Honestly, this is amazing. I didn't know you could do anything like this. Why did you become a tin man and not an artisan?" She placed the ring down and picked up the one for Jeb. It was much thicker and instead of flowers it had the actual vines. They matched but at the same time they reflected the male and female aspects of the plant. She was completely impressed with the thought that had gone into these. Not to mention the skill.

"I like to take my time on things. Artisans don't always have that luxury. If I'd been commissioned to do a set of wedding bands I would have to get them done in a week or two while working on other things. They wouldn't have come out near as well and the quality wouldn't have been what I wanted. It wouldn't have been personal either. I know who I made these for. Made it more rewarding."

Nodding in understanding she set the second ring down. "When are you going to give them to him?"

"Tomorrow." He glanced down at them. "I need to clean and polish 'em then they'll be ready. I hope he likes 'em."

"I don't know how he couldn't."

"Thanks, Kid."

"I'm sure I can take no credit at all for any of this." Standing up she smiled at him. "Thanks for letting me see."

"You're welcome. You know you're allowed to come in here."

"And you're allowed to have a place to escape from everyone. Though I may pop in to see what you've created every now and then now that I know what you can do. See you at dinner."

He had smiled as she left and she saw him searching around for a rag as she walked out. Jeb and Laura had gotten engaged two weeks later. They were cute beyond reason. The way she had found out had been touching. She had been out in the gardens with the tin man and Glitch when the young woman had walked out and nearly tackled Cain. He had grunted from the sudden and unexpected attention and she and the advisor had looked at one another. Then Laura had burst into tears as she thanked him for making her ring. He had patted her back and welcomed her into his family with such sincerity that a whole new set of tears erupted. It had been a sweet, if damp, moment.

Shaking the memory off she latched onto the point of it. The tin man was always happier when he had something to do. Maybe tomorrow she could try to find him a good piece of wood to whittle. She knew it wasn't his favorite pastime, but it was better than nothing and he couldn't work metal while they were here. The thought of getting him something productive to do settled her enough to sleep. It was about time.

Author Note: Leave me a review… No, it's not original… But your reviews could be. Have you ever thought about that? Hmmmm?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Tin Man is not mine.

"Kid?" The girl muttered and batted his hand away as he tried to shake her awake, or at least roll her off his arm. It wasn't that he minded her using him as a pillow but his arm had gone numb. He had a feeling the she'd had her head on it for the last twelve or thirteen hours. Forget a nap. They'd slept through most of the afternoon and the entire night if his internal clock was right. "Deeg?"

"What's the matter?" He could barely make out her slurred question.

"I can't feel my arm."

He was about ninety percent sure she was still asleep when he heard her answer. "That's rough. First your leg and now your arm. All messed up. I'll fix it." She flailed and suddenly her arm flopped over his chest. "Where's the first aid kit? Need bandages and the ladybugs." Blinking down at her he was about to answer her when she let out a very quiet snort. Unable to stop himself he started to chuckle as quietly as possible. The kid protested faintly. "Too loud. Turn down the subwoofer."

Giving up he wrapped his functioning arm around her waist and carefully dragged her over his body. She crumpled bonelessly to his other side without waking up and he rolled his shoulder to get the blood flowing again. Pins and needles erupted all the way to his fingertips. "You're heavier than you look, Darlin'."

"Az, put the weasel back in the cookie jar and it can't wear your bracelet anymore."

That one he hadn't heard before. "How'd it get out?"

She continued to mutter nonsense. "No, I don't want the lamppost."

Smiling at her he kissed her forehead and she sighed as she cuddled up into his side. Moving his fingers systematically he watched her as she slept and let himself enjoy the stillness of the moment. The fire had died down to coals and the room was shadowed but his eyes had adjusted to the near darkness. He was happy to see her sleeping. He knew she had trouble when she was under stress and the last few days had been full of that. He hadn't exactly been helping her with it either. Mentally shaking off his frustration he told himself to behave. The girl was pulling more than her fair share of the weight. He didn't need to be adding to it.

With a small sigh he realized he couldn't stay like this much longer. He needed to use the bathroom no matter how comfortable he was. Silently cursing his bodies needs he eased the girl to the side and sat up being careful not to jostle her awake. Deeg reached for him blindly as he got off the bed and he rubbed her arm after he placed it under the blanket.

The mattress came up when he stood and her body lurched. After all the movement he had put her through his absence woke her up. Her eyes opened and she started to get up. "Wyatt?"

"It's alright." He guided her down. "Go back to sleep. I'm goin' to take a shower."

She allowed him to lay her on the bed. "Ok." Pulling the blanket up she closed her eyes. "Will you show me how to make traps today?"

"Once we're both clean and awake."

"Cool." With a yawn she rolled over as he picked up his cane and headed toward the bathroom. An hour later he was clean, shaved, and had the biggest of the towels they had found wrapped around his hips. The boundaries they had on personal privacy had gotten lax in the last few days. They didn't have much of a choice. He only had one set of clothes and he either needed Deeg to clean them after he showered or wear them dirty.

His girl had taken the whole thing in stride. He was taking it less well but was doing his best to deal with the situation because it wasn't anyone's fault and he wanted clean clothes. It just didn't seem right to ask her deal with him walking around in a towel on top of everything else. It wasn't very gentlemanly and it certainly wasn't showing her much respect. He told himself again there wasn't a choice unless he wanted to smell like sweat.

When he stepped into the bedroom his girl was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. She had the fire going and was staring into the flames as ideas ticked behind her eyes. When she heard him she turned her head and got on her knees so she could slide his clothes out from under his arm. Closing her eyes she glowed for several minutes then set the clothes on the bed before slipping out of the room after picking up her own pile of fabric.

Hearing the water start and her aggrieved groan at the temperature he dressed. When she came in she was buttoning up a faded green shirt as he straightened his collar. This was better. He looked like a properly dressed man now even if his clothes were starting to wear around the edges. "I swear when this is over I'm never getting in a bath that isn't steaming for as long as I live."

"I'm not sure how Ahamo did it for ten years." It may not be as bad as an iron maiden but if he had lived down here he would have figured out a way to install a hot water heater.

"I don't want to think about it."

Sitting down she picked up a comb that she'd left on the pillow and began to work it through her hair. Sitting down next to her he leaned against the wall stretched his injured leg slowly in every direction. His girl watched him move critically as she tried to get her tangled curls under control. It took her awhile to accomplish that task on a good day. On a bad day it took her considerably longer.

"Does it hurt to stretch it?"

"Twinges more than anything. It stopped really hurtin' yesterday." He twisted his calf. "The burns are starting to itch now that they're scabbing over."

The kid glanced up at his face. "I realize you know this but try not to scratch it. I'll see if there's anything for itching. You said it's not hurting but is it sore?"

He considered that. "It is."

"Ok, one step at a time." He raised and eyebrow and she gave him a rueful smile. "Poor choice of words."

"I'll forgive you since you haven't had coffee in over a week."

"Don't remind me." She finished the last of her hair and began to braid it. "I think I'm in withdraw."

Poor kid. She didn't drink a lot of it but she was used to having a cup in the morning. He was sure she wasn't enjoying the lack of her favorite treat. He also wasn't surprised she hadn't brought up the problem. He knew caffeine wasn't the worst thing she could put in her body but it was addictive. The thing was there wasn't any here. The only thing with any caffeine at all was some bagged tea. If she'd told him she needed it he would have given it to her when he found it. "There's some tea."

Relief was evident in her face. "Is it any good?"

"No reason it shouldn't be. It won't be as strong as coffee but it should help."

"Where is it?"

"Do you remember where I put the axe and tools? Over in the corner?"

"Between the dishes and the pantry?"

He nodded. "There's an old tin about this big." He showed her with his hands. "It's brown and red. The tea's in it. There's a kettle next to it. You can make it in here."

"Oh, you're the best. Do you want some?"

He liked tea but he'd let her have it. He could live with water easily enough. "No thanks."

His girl was off like a shot before he finished speaking. He heard a few clanks and then the water in the bathroom sink running. When Deeg came back in her eyes were shinning eagerly as she set the kettle over the fire and sat on the edge of the bed. Opening the tin she picked out a bag and put it in a chipped mug. Closing the box she slid it under the bed and waited impatiently for the kettle to boil.

When it whistled she got up and covered her hand with her sleeve before pouring the water in the mug. Setting it down she moved the kettle to the floor to cool and sat down next to him as she blew on it. Pulling her legs up she cradled the cup and took a sip knowing it was far too hot. Swallowing she exhaled gratefully. Leaning into him briefly she thanked him in her special way. "I love you more than anything right now."

Shaking his head wrapped his arm loosely around her waist as she drank. Relaxing she sipped more slowly after she emptied the first quarter of it. "Is that helpin'?"

"Yeah, all the sleep did too. Do you think the snow stopped?"

"The worst of it did. Haven't heard any thunder for a few hours." He glanced around the room. "I'll give this hole one thing it does have good insulation."

"Assuming you don't freeze to death from the shower."

"There is that."

Reaching up he touched her hair to see if it had dried at all as she finished off her drink. He didn't know how late in the day it was and he knew it would take the better part of it to teach her to make traps and for her to go out and set them. He was trying to avoid the thought of her going out on her own to do that. He would have to stay here. Yup, this was going to drive him crazy. "Can you dry your hair with your magic?"

"I think so."

"Do it then. I want to teach you this and have you back here well before the suns set."

"Sure, Tin Man." She started to glow and he watched as the water that had collected in her hair dissipated. Cracking open one eye she looked at him. "Did it work?"

"Yes." Getting up he hopped a foot to the trunk and tossed her the oversized jacket before pulling on his vest and holster. Deeg picked up on his urgency and tugged on her shoes. She was ready as quickly as he was. Five minutes later and he was stuffing some thick twine in his pocket and going up the ladder.

Deeg was rummaging around under him and he ignored her for the moment as he tried to work out the trap door over his head. A few seconds later and he lifted and pushed as he balanced on the rung he was standing on. The woven logs swung around easily and locked into its original placement knocking the few inches of snow that had accumulated to the side as it went. Impressed with the construction of the entrance he got out and carefully stepped down onto solid ground. Everything was covered in at least four or five inches of white powder. The girl wasn't behind him and after he scanned the area to make sure it was safe he called to her. "Deeg?"

"Hold your white horse!" He heard her muttering then he saw the ax flash over the edge of the hole with her small hand wrapped around the handle. The rest of her body followed and he saw she had the tarp tucked under her other arm. Chucking it over the logs she followed the water proofed fabric and set the ax down on top of it. "Ok, ready."

He indicated the tools. "What's this? Are you goin' to run after 'em?"

"I'm not about to hack the bunnies to pieces! What's the matter with you?" The girl rolled her eyes. "We need firewood. I was going to kill two birds with one stone."

"I can do that while your setting traps."

"No, you can't. You have to put weight on both legs to use the ax right." He pressed his lips together and she sighed. "Wyatt, I'm sorry. What do you want me to say? If you hurt yourself more we'll be stuck here longer."

He growled under his breath and gripped the walking stick angrily. Deeg winced and he felt bad. He shouldn't be making her feel guilty about this. He knew the girl hated to cut firewood in the first place. She didn't have the upper body strength for it. When they were camping he did it to save her the trouble while she took care of other things. He took a deep breath and caught his temper.

"Alright." Pointing to the closest bush she followed him as he crouched down carefully. "The hardest part about this is finding the right place to set it. Dragging out the twine he tied one end around the base of the scraggly bush being sure to tell her that it had to be a place strong enough to hold when the animal pulled on the line. Then he placed two small sticks he broke off in the ground at head height for the animals and ran the line over them. When he was done he made a loose noose knot and let her look at what he had made. Her blue eyes studied it for a long second.

"Can you tie the knot again?"

With a nod he took it apart and retied it as she watched. When he was done he took the whole thing apart. "Build it so I can see you do it." The kid had the whole thing set up correctly in under thirty seconds. He squeezed her shoulder. "Good girl."

"You said I had to put them in the right places?"

"Look for tracks. Rabbits should have already been out lookin' for food this mornin'. You can also look for holes they make in the bushes. They like paths of least resistance the same way we do. They make roads in the underbrush. Don't use 'em everyday but they'll pass through on a pretty regular basis. Put the ropes at the openings."

"How many should I put up?"

"If you can find places to put 'em, three or four." They stood up and he put the twine they had used to practice with in her jacket pocket along with the rest of it. When he was done he looked down at her. "I want you back here in three hours no matter how many you have set or how much wood you've cut."

The kid glanced toward the woods. "I'm really not sure I can get it done that fast."

He caught her shoulders. He knew she wasn't trying to start a fight. She was stating the facts as she saw them. "Deeg, we were chased her by men that wanted to murder us and now you're walkin' out into the forest alone. You're lucky I haven't tied you to one of the beams downstairs to stop you." Her lip twitched and he reached up to caress her face. "Cut me some slack. Three hours or I'm coming after you bum leg or no."

"Ok. I'll go as fast as I can."

"Just don't cut anything off that you need." Watching her agitatedly he continued to touch her cheek. "Keep your eyes and ears open. If anything is off or seems wrong drop everything and come back. Remember, paranoia keeps you alive."

"I'll be fine, Wyatt."

He sighed and nodded. He knew she was smart, clever, creative, and dangerous as all hell when she had to be. That didn't mean he wasn't allowed to worry. "I know, Kiddo."

Moving forward she hugged him. His arms slid around her waist and he held her. "I'll be back in three hours." With one last squeeze she let him go and picked up the ax and tarp. With a last grumble he went to the logs and started trying to make this easier when she got back. It only took him ten minutes. That left him with nothing to do but brood over what his girl was doing for the other two hours and forty-two minutes she was gone.

He was literally a minute away from standing up and going after her when she came out of the forest dragging the tarp over the snow behind her. Relief swept through him and he stood up as she got closer. When he stepped forward to help her she yelled at him from across the small clearing as she periodically flashed white from her magic. "Sit!"

Rolling his eyes he crossed his arms and leaned against the logs. Two minutes later and she was standing in front of him panting and exhausted. "Three hours."

He looked at the pile of wood she had somehow managed to get here. He was sure she had been using her light to help her drag it here. "Did you set any traps?"

Nodding breathlessly she answered. "Four."

Once again she had impressed him. The kid had gotten enough wood to last them five or six days. "You never do things by halves do you?"

Deeg smiled through the puffing. "It's no fun unless I can get that expression on your face."

"Fun?"

"Or, you know, the opposite of that." Shaking his head he picked up the bucket he had dug out nearly three hours ago and started putting the pieces of timber in it. "What're you up to?"

"I thought it would be easier to lower the wood down than carry it."

She collapsed on the logs next to him. "You're a very attractive man when you say things like that."

"It's good to know that's what it takes to impress you."

She twitched all over in response and he lowered the first load down with the rope he had tied to the handle. At least he could do this for her without using his leg. When the pail hit the floor he jerked his arm and the wood tumbled out. Lifting the bucket he repeated the process. By the time he was done Deeg had caught her breath and shook out the tarp. "Thanks for that."

"Seems like the least I could do."

Tossing the folded tarp after the wood she picked up the ax she sat next him with it in her lap. "Don't be upset that you're hurt. It isn't your fault. You got shot protecting me. I know you're frustrated. I would be too. It isn't going to be like this forever. Only another week or two. Your leg is healing really well."

Reaching up he ran his hand over the back of her head. "I don't like you havin' to work this hard."

Deeg shrugged. "I did a lot more than this on the farm and it's better than being stuck in meetings all day. I don't think you realize exactly how much stuff I used to do for myself that you or the palace staff take care of now. Since the realm settled down I've had more free time than I ever had before. I used to be lucky to be able to catch a midnight movie with my friends once a month. Now I can laze around and do nothing if I want to. I can sleep in sometimes. I have time to draw the way I used to want to while I was working. I can actually sit down and talk to people, just for fun, because I can. Wyatt, we play cards and go out horseback riding. That's crazy to me. I feel like I've been on vacation for months now. So don't run yourself into a tizzy about taking it easy for a couple of weeks. I'm not about to drop dead from exhaustion and I'm not going to get angry or start secretly loathing you because I have to work a little bit. I'm not some pampered princess despite my pedigree." She bumped his shoulder. "Ok?"

Every time he thought he couldn't possibly love her more than he did she went and proved him wrong. Wrapping his arm around her hips he dragged her against his side and kissed her temple. "Ok, Kid."

"Great. Let's go in then. I'm freezing now that I'm not moving around."

"I'll start a fire for you."

"Neat, can we eat while we're at it?"

"Is that you talkin' or your stomach?"

Laughing she shimmied down the ladder ahead of him. "The second one. I didn't eat breakfast."

"Ozma forbid. I'm amazed you didn't take a chunk out of me."

"Then you couldn't fish and get me more food later. My stomach can make logical decisions."

"That fact may have saved my life today." Her laughter rang around the room and he landed on the floor next to her. Stepping to the fire pit he grabbed a few of the drier logs and lit them. Once it was hot enough he heated part of one of the dried fish and Deeg handed him a can of mixed vegetables. Dumping them in he stirred the mixture up into a rough, dry stew and dumped the lot in two bowls. His girl sat next to him with some water and stretched herself out. Her coat was tossed over the logs that were in a disorganized pile in the center of the room. They would need to put them away but it could wait until they were done eating.

"I got you something."

"What?" He glanced up from the bowls and she handed him a squarish piece of pine. He took it from her with a confused look.

"I thought you might need something to do. I know carving isn't as good as banging metal with a hammer but there are plenty of knives down here. I figured you could use one if you were interested." She tilted her head in question.

That was plain thoughtful of her. "Thanks, Kid."

She smiled brilliantly when she saw he was happy. Handing her the bowl she thanked him and then caught him completely off guard. She kissed his cheek and sat back. The girl only did that when she was upset. But she wasn't upset at all. He could tell. She was munching at her food with quiet contentment. Pleased with the entire situation he started eating. Maybe getting shot and stuck here wasn't the worst thing that could have happened.

Author Note: Let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This still isn't mine.

This had been a complete waste of time. Looking down at the last of the five traps she had set she sighed. This one was as empty as the last four. The real bummer was there were tracks in the snow all around it. She wasn't sure how they had avoided it. Wily bunnies that refused to be her dinner. This was depressing. They had run out of fish yesterday and she was afraid it was too cold for them to get any more. They would have to try tomorrow anyway. Moving the wire she stood and headed to the tepee. The tin man would get worried if she wasn't home soon and it was starting to snow again.

Picking her way along the lakeshore she had her eyes up in order to keep an eye out for danger and completely forgot to watch where she was putting her feet. Not that it would have helped seeing as the danger was camouflaged. Stepping on a thin sheet of ice that had formed under the snow between a gap in the rocks had her plunging down into thigh deep water with a shriek of surprise. Toppling sideways she submerged completely and sat up spluttering and cursing.

"Shit!" Sitting in the icy shallows she smacked her hands in the water in pure rage. Not only had her traps failed to catch anything she was soaked to the bone. She felt tears of frustration gathering in her eyes and hit the water again. She was hopeless. What was the matter with her? Shaking like crazy she stood up dripping icy water and slipped across the rocky bottom of the lake to the snow covered shore.

Snatching up the canteen she had brought out with her as it bobbed past her she walked back across the snow to the tepee. This was horrible. All she'd wanted was rabbit for them instead of more canned crap and what had happened? She had gotten soaked and now she was so frozen she couldn't feel her toes. A hundred yards away and something cold hit her nose. Glancing up she saw snow, which had only been coming in single random flakes, had starting to fall in a thick sparkling wave. It was official. This was the worst day ever.

Getting to the entrance she slid a few rungs down the ladder before wrestling the hatch closed. Shaking and numb she managed to get it closed without breaking her face but lost her balance, again. Letting out a shout she toppled the last five feet to the ground and slammed flat onto her back. All the air was forced out of her lungs in a rush and she would have groaned if she could have. She lay there stunned and starring at the wooden beams that held the ceiling up as she fought to get her lungs to expand.

"Kid?" Cain called to her from the bedroom and she began to turn over unable to speak. When she didn't answer she heard him limping into the main room quickly as she wheezed. "Deeg?" She coughed in response and the tin man was next to her a moment later. He tried to help her up as he questioned her. "What happened?"

Embarrassed and angry she pushed his hands away. "Nothing."

"Kid, you're soaked and you're on the ground."

"Yes, thank you!" Standing up she shoved past him and went to the bedroom in search of a dry outfit. Yanking some too big clothes out of the trunk she hurled them on the bed and began to unbutton her jacket. Or she tried to. Her fingers were too numb to grip anything. Snarling down at the fabric and her shaking hands she began to yank at it desperately.

While she was fighting the tin man had followed her and stood staring at her in the doorway. He had stopped using his cane yesterday. After a moment of watching her struggle his voice floated gently to her. "Do you need help?"

Stomping her foot furiously she cursed loudly and stood there wet and shaking as tears of frustration began to form in her eyes. "Yes."

Stepping up to her he began to unbutton the bulky jacket. Once he had it loose he helped her out of it and started on the top few buttons of the oversized shirt she had found in the trunk. As he worked on them he glanced up at her eyes. "Are you alright?"

No, she was frustrated beyond reason when she had told him not three days ago that everything was fine. She was a horrible hypocrite. What was the matter with her? "I fell in the lake."

"I figured." There was no hint of humor in his voice. His eyes were searching hers and she knew she was acting like a spoiled brat.

Ashamed of her behavior she dropped her eyes and apologized. "I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry."

He put his hand on the side of her head briefly before continuing to help her out of her clothes. "You're allowed to get angry."

"Gee, thanks."

His lip twitched before he turned serious. "Can you feel your fingers at all?"

"No." Her teeth had never stopped chattering. "My toes either."

"Alright, we need to get you into dry clothes and under the blankets."

"That was my plan."

He nodded. "Sit on the trunk. No point in gettin' the bed wet. That won't help at all." With a sigh she complied, avoiding their dry clothes, and he went down on his knees carefully so he could yank off her boots. Two sharp tugs later and he was reaching under the hem of her pants to get at the top of her soaked socks. He peeled them off her and held her ankle while he studied her toes. "No frostbite. Looks like you get to keep 'em."

"Good, I was rather attached to them." He rolled his eyes and they helped each other stand up. "Would you mind turning around for a second?" With a nod he spun and she managed to get the rest of her waterlogged clothes off after a couple of tries at the buttons on her pants. Grumbling internally at her total lack of an extra set of underwear she simply tugged on the baggy pants and shirt. "All set."

He looked her over. "Socks?"

"I can't find any. I've been using the same ones since we got here."

"I saw some out in the main room. Get under the quilt. I'll be back in a second."

When he turned she got on the bed, curled into a shivering ball, and pulled the blanket all the way over her body. She could swear even the roots of her hair were cold. She didn't hear the tin man come back in, and she couldn't see him since the quilt was over her head, but she felt a second warm weight settle over her and peeked out from her rapidly warming haven. Cain had tossed a second quilt over her and was starting a fire in the hearth.

When he was done he sat on the edge of the bed and reached under her covering as he searched for her feet. "Straighten out for me."

Shoving her foot into his hand he tugged it out long enough to put a too big sock on her. Trying to help she gave him her other foot and he repeated the process. "Thanks, Wyatt." Pulling her legs in she cover her face again and waited for the room to warm up.

"You're welcome." The mattress shifted and then there was a blast of cold along her side. She whimpered in protest but then he was pressed against her back and she shut up. She decided her energy could be better spent trying to burrow against him because he was really warm. "Easy, Kid. You're goin' to knock me off the bed."

"I'm cold." With her chattering teeth that sound pathetically needy.

His arm snaked over her stomach and he covered her hands with his again. "That tends to happen when you fall in a mountain lake in winter."

"Shut it."

He chucked and held her against his chest. "What was that? I can't hear you." She grumbled but was too cold to come out and throw a sarcastic comment his way. Interpreting her non-response correctly he tugged at her side. "Turn over."

"Am I done on this side?"

"You could say that." Flipping over she allowed him to press their fronts together. Surprisingly this was a lot better. Letting out a chattering sigh of relief she pressed her blanket covered head under his chin. Running his hand down her shoulders and back he slowly rubbed heat into her skin. Long minutes later and she felt warm enough to escape the airless refuge she had found.

Pulling the blankets to her shoulders she sucked in a deep breath and pressed her face into his neck again. His hand went up to the base of her skull and started to rub her firmly. Murmuring her approval she allowed him to tuck her closer with his other hand and tried to focus on stopping herself from shivering. This was nice, other than the nearly painful cold.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded into his neck. "Much. You're warm."

His rumbling chuckle went through both of them. "It's good to know I have some value."

"Lots of value. Right now warmth is the most valuable of the values."

She felt him smile and then his thumb was running over her cheek. "Always honest."

"I try." Her arm was getting squished and she stretched it up. He lifted his and she took the hint sneaking hers under and wrapping him in a loose hug. Shifting with her he twisted his shoulder and ended up covering more of her than the blankets were. Finding the unexpected situation both comforting and depressing all at once she let him continue to run his hands over her scalp. She didn't foresee another incident like this occurring and figured she should cherish the moment while she could.

After a while her tremors wore off and she simply lay there and pushed her head into his hand. She knew it was wrong. She knew he was her friend. She knew that was all he was ever going to be but that didn't stop her from wanting more. That didn't stop her from silently asking him to continue to touch her. It would be enough. She could settle for this. She had gotten used to settling for anything she could get a long time ago and this was a far cry from bad. "Can I take a blanket off? You're cookin' me."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

He tossed one of the blankets to the edge of the bed and returned his hand to her hair. Kissing her forehead he rumbled softly. "It's fine. I know you're freezin'."

"And now you're burning up." She felt bad. "You don't have to stay with me. I'm ok now."

"Maybe I want to."

"Wyatt, we've been trapped in this tepee together for the last eight days. Before that we were in a cramped truck for a week. I find it hard to believe you don't want some alone time."

"Do you?"

"No, but I have the option of going for a walk if I need to blow off some steam."

"A walk, a jump in the lake."

She poked his side. "I fell!" He chuckled as he kissed her cheek. This time she didn't find the gesture endearing. "It wasn't funny!" Frustrated all over again she began to turn over. She would have gotten out of the bed at any other time but she was too cold at the moment.

He caught her. "I'm only teasin'."

Pressing her lips together she nodded knowing she was being ridiculous. They bantered with each other all the time. It was stupid for her to get upset but she was upset all the same. "I know. I'm sorry."

He brushed some of her hair out of her eyes as he pulled her up on the pillow. Apparently he wanted to be able to see her better when the only thing she wanted to do was curl up in a corner until she felt better about her recent performance. "Tell me what's the matter."

Her entire body stiffened as she vented. "I can't get us home, I can't fix your leg, we are dangerously close to running out of food, the fish won't bite, and the freaking rabbits keep dodging the snares! They're smarter than I am!" She shoved her head under his chin. "You have bullet wound and you're taking care of me right now! Do you see the irony of this situation? I totally dropped the ball! I hate this! I hate that you're hurt and I can't make you better!"

"Kid-"

"Stop!" Her head came up. "Stop, trying to make me feel better about this! I'm supposed to be taking care of you! I told you I would! You're not supposed to be worried about me right now!"

His voice took on the soft quality it did when he was trying to make her feel better. "That's not how it works." He cupped her cheek and pulled her head up. "We're partners. It's supposed to go back and forth. That's why there's two of us."

She let out a short breath. "Partners?"

"Haven't we always been?" He searched her eyes and she saw the honest question in his blue ones. He was right. After the first few days they had been. It was like she had found the other part of herself she hadn't known she was missing. The thought made her stomach clench.

She sniffed away the tears. "Yeah."

His thumb ran over skin. "Then don't be upset. No one ever taught you to survive in the woods before. You'll get it. It'll take some time."

"We don't have time."

"We have plenty of time. There's enough food in the pantry to last us another nine days even if we don't catch anything else. I'll go fishin' again tomorrow and you'll catch somethin'. You have to be patient."

"I'm not good at that."

He smiled softly. "I know."

"I know you know."

"Then why are you arguing with me?" Her lip twitched and he tugged her a little closer. Pressing his forehead against hers he smiled affectionately at her. "You've done nothin' but take care of me since those longcoats started chasin' us. I haven't been the easiest patient either."

"That's because you're stubborn and cantankerous."

She could tell he was suppressing the urge to either laugh or grumble at her. "Be that as it may you've been doin' pretty much everything. I don't think one minor set back is quite the disaster you've made it out to be."

"I think you're understating the situation."

"A few empty traps and a dunk in the lake isn't a tragedy. That's just a rotten day."

She hated when he threw things into perspective. "When you put it like that I guess not."

"Alright, then." He tickled her cheek. "I love when you say I'm right."

Aggrieved she sighed. "Wyatt." He chuckled and kissed her nose. "No! You do not get to kiss me after that!"

His eyes shifted. "When do I get to kiss you then?"

She froze at the question. That had not been teasing in the slightest. His eyes were serious if kind, and he brushed hair out of her eyes as he waited. "What?" The question was no more than a whisper as she searched his eyes. She would hate to interpret that wrong because it would ruin everything. The tin man must have seen the thoughts whirling in her head because he didn't wait for her to say anything else.

Leaning forward he pressed his lips gently against hers. Her eyes fell closed and she could swear lightning shot down her body when he kissed her. Moaning quietly at the contact had him cradling the back of her head with amazing care. The arm she had around his shoulder tightened and she pressed up into him. After a long moment he pulled back with a ragged breath. Caressing her face he brushed his lips over hers once more before laying his head on the pillow again.

"Wyatt?" She breathed his name out hesitantly. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Why'd you kiss me back?"

"I asked you first."

His eyes twinkled. "I asked you second."

"So you answer me first and then I'll consider telling you." Her lips found his again.

"You'll consider it?" His lip began to twitch even as he nibbled at her lower one. "That is hardly motivating, Darlin'."

Her hands tangled in his hair to pull him closer. She was afraid to let him get away. She wasn't sure she'd be able to get him back again. "I'll definitely be more likely to answer if you explain to me what is going on in your head."

With a slight nod he moved away enough to avoid any instant temptation. "I'm thinkin' gettin' stuck here with you was about the best thing that's happened to me. Been meanin' to tell you I was yours for a while now and see if that was alright with you."

She'd never seen him nervous before. Snuggling closer to him she kissed his jaw. "It'd be a pain to train someone else at this point."

Wrapping his arm under her shoulders he held her closer he grumbled at her. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, you took some serious work." His rumbling chuckled rocked through both of them. Smiling she ran her hand over his back. "Don't worry, you were worth it."

Leaning his head down he pressed his lips against hers in a barely there kiss. "I'm glad you think so. I wasn't sure what to I was goin' to do if you weren't interested."

Her eyes softened. "You're, my best friend. Who else was I going to fall for?"

Humming he nuzzled his nose against the crown of her head. "I don't know but I was starting to think it wasn't goin' to be me, Deeg."

Tipping his head down she hesitantly touched her lips to his before she spoke. "It was always you."

His blue eyes blazed in the firelight and his calloused hand ran from her cheek to her neck. A shiver ran down her that had nothing to do with her misadventure outside. Leaning closer he kissed her and slowly rolled her onto her back. Letting out a small whimper she let him deepen the kiss as he sank carefully over her. The feel of his weight over her made her gasp and he growled into her mouth at her reaction.

"Don't get ahead of me, Darlin'. I'm not about to jump into this with you without thinkin'."

Sometimes he wasn't any fun at all. "I was thinking more of a flying leap actually. Just…Whoosh, right over this metaphorical cliff."

Chuckling he pushed himself up and laid his forehead on hers. "I don't want any strangeness between us because we got goin' too fast. I want this." He kissed her as his hand ran through her hair. "Like you can't believe, but I want to keep what we have too. I've never had a friend like you before."

Confused she searched his eyes. "Never?" Reaching up she touched his cheek.

"Not like you. Never met anyone who seemed to know what I was thinkin' before I did. I never knew anyone who could finish my sentences. I never met anyone that could make me laugh when I was feelin' my worst. I never met anyone that could get me to hold my temper when I'm about to explode but let me loose it when I was justified. I never had anyone that understood when I needed space and when I didn't without havin' to ask." Smiling softly she tickled the skin behind his ear. "With you I'm goin' to be selfish. I want everything."

"And that means no whooshing?" She wanted to be clear about this.

His eyebrow popped up as his lip twitched. "That's what it means. Little steps. I want us to be comfortable with each other."

She understood what he was saying. It wasn't that he didn't want to rip off her clothes and take her right now. She was sure that was exactly what a part of him wanted. But another part, the stronger part, the part she loved, wanted to go about this differently. He wanted to avoid an awkward morning after. He wanted a smooth transition into this new aspect of their relationship. Adding in the physical a little at a time, when it felt right, would make that much more likely.

"How about you kiss me one more time and go back to keeping me warm then?"

Adoring eyes gazed down at her and he tilted his head enough so they wouldn't hit noses. Closing her eyes she sighed into the kiss as he drew it out. Warm waves of pleasure tingled down her spine as he held her face still. Returning the kiss her arms tightened around him and he pulled away with a regretful sigh. Laying his head on the pillow he moved off of her and tucked her against his side. Making sure the blanket was secured around her he relaxed with his arm over her. While his hand tickled her shoulder she decided the day hadn't been that bad after all.

Author Note: Hurray for new chapters! Unfortunately that's the last be I'll be posting until Wednesday. I'm going out of town and I won't have internet access. Hopefully this one was good enough to get you guys through.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Tin Man doesn't belong to me.

His girl's head appeared at the top of the hole as he was putting the fishing pole away. He hadn't had any luck at all while she had been gone. Her traps hadn't managed to get anything and they had been surviving on fish and remaining food in the pantry. He thought they would be all right if they could leave in the next three days. But they'd have to ration and he wanted to wait longer than that. As tired as he was of this hole he was afraid of getting attacked when they left and not being able to fight or run. Better they go hungry for a day or two no matter how much he disliked the idea. He needed at least five more days and he knew it. Deeg wasn't going to enjoy her stomach being empty but he figured she could fill it as full as she could get it when they got home again.

The last two weeks with her had been some of the best one's he'd had since emerging from the suit. Other then the days that involved finding Jeb, Jeb getting engaged, and Jeb getting married. He was glad he decided not to rush after he got her totally warm. Deeg was always openly affectionate with him but she understood the physical boundaries of their friendship. After their shift he could tell she was afraid of crowding him. He knew she liked physical contact but didn't want to overwhelm him. The kid was trying to work out what his norm was. After she had fluttered around him uncertainly for a few moments while he sat looking at a map trying to work out exactly where they were he had grabbed her around the waist and plunked her sideways on his lap.

"How's this seat?"

She blinked at him. "Good."

"Good."

He had kissed her gently and she had wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders. Together they had figured a rough estimation of where they were. Since then he had been doing his best to keep all their clothes on them but it was becoming increasingly difficult as the days wore on. They were settling into a comfortable new pattern. And as he'd hoped their friendship hadn't been hurt by it. The only thing that had changed was his ever increasing need for her. Before he had been able to lock it away because she had been off limits. Now she was all his and his body was fighting him pretty hard after well over a decade of celibacy.

Right now he was trying not to think about that. She was calling for him and he had a gift for her. There was no need for him to let his thoughts stray.

"Wyatt?" Walking to the ladder he looked up at her. She was leaning over the doorway with a puzzled smile on her face. Intrigued by her expression he raised an eyebrow in silent question. "Two of my traps caught stuff."

He smiled up at her. "That's great, Darlin'." Two rabbits would allow them to stay here for at least another day. Going to the table he picked up a knife so he could clean them. He wasn't about to ask her to do it now that she knew how. "See? Patience. Two rabbits will keep us fed for a while."

"One rabbit."

He frowned. "You said two traps."

"Yeah, but only one of them got a rabbit."

"What did the other one get?" He started up the ladder with only the slightest limp.

She smiled and her eyes twinkled down at him in absolute amusement. "A turkey." She said that when their faces were an inch apart and he paused. His girl laughed and kissed his nose. "It's a big one too."

"You caught a _turkey_?"

"Gobble, gobble, Tin Man." Deeg hoisted herself up and he followed her quickly. He had to see this. Returning to the open air he looked down to where she was and sure enough there was a dead bird at her feet. And she hadn't only gotten a turkey. She had managed to get a full grown tom. The thing had to weigh a good nineteen or twenty pounds. He stared at it for a long minute before turning his eyes to her. Deeg was gazing at it in satisfaction with her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. He wanted to know how this had happened. Then again it was the kid so it might be best not to question her good fortune.

He could only think of one thing to say. "Wow."

"Right?" She bounced a bit and scratched her nose. "I have to say I'm a little proud of myself right now."

"Me too." Wrapping his arm around her shoulders he tugged her close and kissed her cheek. "This is amazing."

The kid let out a relieved breath. "Now we don't have leave. We have enough food to last us until you're all better."

"And enough for the walk to the city."

Catching his face she kissed him soundly. "If you start cleaning them I'll go get something to put the meat in."

"Off you go." He watched her go down the ladder and bent down to pick up her catch. He took the animals to the edge of the woods to clean them. He didn't want to attract any large predators to them with the smell. Crouching down he started with the rabbit knowing the feathers would make a mess. By the time Deeg found him he had it skinned and was in the process of removing the inedible parts. The kid handed him a smaller dish with a silent look of distaste but made no verbal protest. The girl really didn't like having to do this part. "You don't have to watch."

She sighed and sat on a nearby log as she gazed out at the lake. "I know it's silly. I can fix you when you're gushing blood without flinching but this freaks me out. I just never had to do the butchering part before."

"That's healin' not killin'. There's a difference. No one is made to process every single situation. We all have things we don't like. This one happens to be yours and I'm sure you could do it if you needed to." Finished with the hare he put it in the bowl and picked up the turkey. This was going to take a lot longer. "I don't mind taking care of the messy bit."

With a nod she covered her hands again. "You're walking a lot better. Do you think you'll be able to make it the city in a few days?"

"I think five more. I was worried we wouldn't have enough food but that won't be a problem now."

Deeg was quiet for a second. "If we are where we think we are we should pass a few towns."

He looked up at her briefly as he plucked the bird. "Yeah."

"If you think we can I'd rather avoid them and stay in the woods."

"In this snow?" He stopped and she looked over at him. "Deeg, we both know you can't handle the cold."

"Wyatt, there was something weird about that ambush. It was like they knew we were coming."

"They couldn't have known." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "No one knew which way we were goin' but me. The only people that even knew what day we were supposed to be leaving were Jeb, your parents, and the two of us. How many people even knew we weren't in Central City?"

"I know, and still there they were. Just waiting for us to stop and get gas."

He considered that seriously. He had thought he had slipped up somehow but he saw what the kid was getting at. "You think they're in every town?"

Her eyes were serious. "There isn't a better explanation. Six armed men on stand by?" She shook her head. "If Jeb and Glitch did the math right a few months ago then I figure the disbanded longcoats could easily have three to seven men in every small town in the Outer Zone with enough left over to have fifteen to thirty in the big cities. The tin men in Central City have already arrested or killed over a hundred in separate raids."

He started plucking again. "They started their own resistance network. Didn't they learn from the best?"

"And who better to kill than us? I may not be next in line for the throne but I killed the witch and you're one of the biggest heroes in the Outer Zone's history-" He grunted in annoyance and her lip twitched. "-even if you don't believe that."

"Our head's would make lovely trophies in their meetin' house." Cursing under his breath he continued. "If you're right we have a serious problem and I'm not talkin' about gettin' home. We can stay in the woods but it isn't goin' to be a fun night for you."

"Doesn't matter."

He grunted in acceptance. "Alright. At least Jeb has experience with this and so do the large majority of the royal guard and reinstated army. Still, these men have a foothold now. If we want them gone we'll have to hit them everywhere fast and hard. If we don't they'll scatter like roaches in the light. Then they'll regroup and we'll have lost the element of surprise." He sighed tiredly. "I thought this was over."

"Me too." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm wrong."

"For once I hope you are but there's no way to know until we get home. We'll need Raw and every other viewer we can find to figure that out. Until then there's no point in workin' ourselves up."

"You're right."

He shook his head. "Then stop thinkin' about it."

"Like you're not."

He chuckled as the last of the feathers fell from the bird. Reaching down he grabbed a hand full of snow and scrubbed the few specks of blood from them before reaching down into the pile of fluff and picking out a long, iridescent blue and green feather. Stepping over to her he sat down and handed her the feather. Leaning in he kissed her right below her ear as she twirled it between her fingers. "I'm only thinkin' about you."

Her cheeks flushed pink. "Sweet." Turning her head she kissed him briefly. "A total lie, but sweet."

Smiling he kissed her one more time. "Let me finish with this monster you caught with a line snare and then I promise to only think about you."

Batting at him she studied the feather as he moved to finish his task. Twenty minutes later and he was tossing the turkey in the large pot she had brought out and she picked up the rabbit. Kicking snow over the remains he followed her and tried to decide the best way to cook this. When they got inside Deeg set the rabbit down and took off her jacket. Making up his mind he set the pot down and started to dig out the fire pit.

"Should I ask?"

"I'm goin' to slow roast it. I'll cover the whole thing in wood and keep addin' to it until it's covered in coals. It'll take all night but that doesn't matter. We can have the rabbit tonight. We'll have to cook it in the bedroom is all."

With a shrug she started handing him firewood after he set the bird in the depression he had made. Starting the fire he let it get going then moved the burning wood to the sides of the animal. After about thirty minutes of meticulous placement he thought he could leave it alone for about an hour before he had to do anything with it. "Nice."

"You think anything you can eat is nice."

Giggling she agreed. "True."

"What do you want to do? Shower, eat, then cards?" She had won the last four times they were playing. He was determined to reclaim his title as champion.

"Both."

"Which two are in there?"

"Shower and eat. If you want to go first I'll start this and then we can switch." Her eyes glittered and she picked up a pot that had mysterious appeared. He narrowed his eyes and noticed that the hare had been placed inside it with water and a few potatoes. They had come out of the smallest of the cans that was left on the shelves. "Not much of a stew but I thought it would be enough."

"It's fine." Taking that as a 'yes please continue', she went into the bedroom and set the pot over the fire. She had already started it. He saw she had a mug of tea steaming next to the bed and realized she had been moving between the rooms without him noticing. When he saw what she had already done he gathered up a few bowls and cups and sat them down on the floor next to her. She stirred the pot a few times then leaned against the bed as he retreated to the bathroom.

When he came out she used her magic to clean his clothes before disappearing. He kept an eye on the food and by the time she came back in a pair of baggy pants and her sheer white top it was done. Filling the bowls with food he handed her one and they sat on the bed. Stretching her legs out she shook her head even as she emptied her bowl.

"When we get home I want a burger."

He smiled as he finish and took her empty bowl from her. Setting them on the ground he pulled her against his side. "I wish you had never introduced me to fries."

Laughing she took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. Humming at her had his girl twisting until she was snug against his side. Kissing her head he reached into his pocket with his free hand and felt around for the present he had been making her while she was out in the woods catching them food. It wasn't exactly his best work seeing as he was using wood but he thought she would like it. He'd found some blue ribbon while they were sorting and figured he'd go ahead and take it. He had a feeling Ahamo had collected anything and everything he could get his hands on. You never knew when you might be able to trade it for something you needed.

"Made you somethin'."

Her eyes came up to his. The kid was suddenly and incredibly hopeful. "New socks?"

His lip twitched. He had no idea where she thought he had found socks in her size. "No."

He had her attention and she took her head off his shoulder. "Better than socks?"

Laughing he used the arm around her waist to drag her onto his legs. "Prettier than socks at any rate."

"What is it?"

Latching onto the necklace he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. He hadn't used a lot of the pine she had handed him but it had given him an idea. She had come back with about five different types of wood when she had cut firewood and he had patiently cut them into equal size before sanding them into large beads. Once he was done he had drilled holes in them with an old wire and run the ribbon through them. Knotting it carefully between beads he had filled the ribbon half up before stopping. He wanted to able to see the rest of the ribbon behind her neck. He was pleased with the result. The multicolored wood might not be expensive but it was pretty. He thought it would appeal to the kids taste.

When she saw it he knew he had been right about that. Her face lit up and she looked up at him. "This is beautiful."

He smiled at her. "Do you like it?"

"A lot." She kissed his cheek.

"Let's see how it looks on you." Taking it from her he placed it around her neck and tied the ribbon into a bow before gathering her hair up and letting it out from under the necklace.

Reaching up she touched the beads with her fingertips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Darlin'." Her arms went around his shoulders and one of her legs came around until she was straddling him. He rumbled as her lips found his and she pressed her body into his. Running his arm up her spine he held her against him as she deepened the kiss. Tightening his grip on her he knew this was heading toward more than a few affectionate kisses. With a pained sigh he tore his mouth from hers and peppered her face with kisses before catching her shoulders and holding her away. "That's a big thank you for a little necklace."

Her eyes were smoky and she leaned up so she could whisper in his ear. "The necklace was only an excuse." Her lips pressed against the edge of his jaw. "Why do you keep stopping this?"

"I told you why I didn't want to rush." He began to stroke her hair as her lips trailed down under his ear.

"Has anything changed in the last two weeks?"

He groaned as her hands ran down to his chest. "No."

"Ok." Her nimble fingers unbuttoned the first button of his shirt before she raised her eyes to his. "Then why won't you let us go any farther?"

Deeg was waiting patiently for an answer as her hand brushed over his collarbone. "You deserve better than a hole in the ground. I want our first time to be somewhere safe and clean." He stroked her hair away from her face. "I want you to be full of warm food you didn't have to hunt and cook yourself. I want you to be clean after a warm bath not a hairs breath away from hypothermia from the shower. I want to wake up in the morning and see the sunlight shinnin' on your skin."

Her eyes softened. "You're being ridiculously romantic about this."

"You deserve a ridiculous amount of romance."

Her lip twitched and she shifted until they were pressed together again. "When we get home are you going to let me slide into bed with you?"

"Not until you take a bath."

She pushed off of him as she rolled her eyes. "This is the last time I ask permission."

He chuckled at that. "You never ask permission to do anything."

"That's true." Her lips slammed over his and he growled at her even as she twisted them so he fell sideways onto his back. Ending up with his arms full of Deeg he opened his eyes when she leaned away and found her grinning impishly down at him. "You should know better than to goad me." She kissed him once more. "Do you feel you've been properly chastised?"

"Hardly, but you'd best stop anyway." Rolling so they were sitting up again he kissed her cheek. "Now, let's play a hand of cards before you drive me completely insane."

Laughing she slid off of him. "Alright, Tin Man, but you're not going to win today either."

He was sure he'd already won. "We'll see about that, Kid." With a smile she bounced onto the bed after retrieving the cards and started to shuffle.

Author Note: I got home and didn't want to make you guys wait until tomorrow. Hope it was worth the wait!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

Watching the first sun rise over the trees the tin man looked over at her. "Are you ready for this, Kid?"

Nodding she threw the small saddlebag over her shoulder. Cain had commandeered the only pack in the tepee and refused to let her carry it. Seeing as his leg was as good as new, other than the gnarly scars, she's allow him lug it around. Wrapped up in several layers with the jacket around her and some rags wrapped around her hands she was as ready as she was going to be. This was going to be such a crappy two days. "Yeah."

"Let's go then. Sooner we go sooner we get home."

That was true enough. With one last look at the snow covered logs they stepped into the forest. "Next time we go on vacation I vote for Finaqua in the summer."

His lip twitched. "Agreed."

After that they walked in silence. There were a number of things she would have loved to share with the tin man but she knew better than to break the quiet and risk them getting caught unaware. The last time had been lesson enough and there hadn't been any snow to contend with. Now it was well above her ankles and she was using all her energy to break through. In less than an hour she was puffing as quietly as she could. An hour after that and Cain paused next to a log. He seemed to be doing better than she was.

"You need a break, Darlin'?"

"No, if we stop we'll get stuck out here more than one night. I'll be tired but that's not a big deal. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He assessed her for a second. "Try to stay in my tracks. I'll go first for a while and break up the snow."

"Thanks."

He smiled and squeezed her hand briefly before they started on their way. On alert for anything that was odd or out of place she soon became accustomed to the normal sounds of the forest again. Birds were letting out calls of all volumes and she heard the occasional movement of branches overhead as squirrels and chipmunks ran about on their leafy roads.

After a while her mind started to wander. The last month had been… Terrifying? Uncertain? Stressful? Insanely wonderful? Pretty much all of those things bunched together. Their time at the tepee had been revealing. Maybe they needed the time alone to work it out between themselves. When they were in Central City they were usually swamped or distracted by one thing or another. Not that they didn't have free time. They did. It was just different when anyone or everyone was likely to show up wherever they were at any given moment. The two of them had never had a chance to fall at one another without interruption.

Not that it mattered at this point. She doubted she'd be able to get rid of Cain now if she tried. Not that she had any intention of doing so. The last few weeks in the hole, as the tin man had referred to it, had been full of more sweetness than she had ever experienced. No one she had dated before was anywhere near as attentive to her as Wyatt was. For all his gruffness and grumbling he treated her like some sort of priceless treasure. Not that he hadn't always been protective and thoughtful but it was different now. She wasn't sure she could put her finger on it exactly.

Whatever the difference in his attitude was she wasn't complaining. She loved being treated this way. She loved that he still treated her like he always had but now he held her close at night. She loved that he would sit and read and unconsciously pull her against him or reach out to wherever she was and touch her. She loved that he had made her a necklace when he could have made anything at all. She even loved that he wanted to wait, no matter how frustrating that was, until they were safely home in order to woo her properly because she was sure that was what was going on in his head. Mostly she figured she just loved him.

That scared her a little bit. She'd never been in love before. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but the breathless dizzy feeling every time he held her wasn't it. Neither was the crazy and unexplainable attachment she had to him or the need to be with him as much as she could. She really thought she should have seen this coming. They spent all their time together to begin with. She knew everything he liked from his hobbies to his favorite food. She had realized the last few days that she had been in love with for well over a year. She had simply been waiting for him to figure out that he loved her back. He had been well worth the patience.

A few hours after noon and his warning knocked her out of her head, which was a shame since she was having a rather pleasant conversation with herself about her current situation. "Deeg." He caught her hand and started dragging her toward a clump of snow covered bushes. She heard it as she hustled after him. As they crouched down the forest went still and she put her hands down over the top of the snow. "What are you doin'?"

"Covering our tracks." She'd never tried to do this before. Keeping her eyes on the path they had made she breathed out a command. "Fill it up."

Her light flowed across the trail they had created for she didn't know how far before the tin man wrapped his arm around her and yanked her farther into the shadows of the bush. "Good girl. Quiet now." His voice was barely a whisper in her ear.

Silent and still they waited in the shadows of the forest. Less than a minute later a branch snapped to their left and the tin man drew his gun. Her heart rate speed up exponentially and she moved her head slowly so she could see through a hole in the branches. Behind her Wyatt was shifting slowly so his body covered most of hers. She could tell he wasn't about to take any chances with her safety and once again she promised to fire him when this was over. She was sick with fear that he was going to get shot again and it was clouding her judgment. Forcefully making herself focus on what was happening she watched as two badly dressed men stepped out from between the trees. Both were sporting rather scruffy beards and to her great dismay she spotted one of them wearing a standard issued black leather coat with the witch's emblem on it. Damn.

The tin man was still as a statue but she knew he recognized the coat as easily as she did. He probably saw it before she had. Her eyes went to the woods behind them but they didn't appear to be expecting any more company.

"This is rotten weather."

The other man snapped at him. "Would you shut up about it?"

"I'm saying is all."

"You've been nothing but saying since the damn winter started."

Great, these two were on good, solid emotional ground. "Piss off. You're testy because you haven't found any food."

"Me? What do you mean me? I brought down the last two deer! I'm the only one pulling any weight out here! When was the last time you did anything?"

"Me? I out rank ya! And what the hell are you doing wearing that damn coat? What have I told you? Someone could spot you in it! We're too close to town for you to keep pulling this shit!"

"You out rank me? There isn't any rank anymore!" She felt the air shift dangerously between the longcoats and the men turned on each other before she could blink. The one in the jacket pulled a knife as the other man tackled him. They rolled through the snow fighting viciously and she knew this tension had been building for some time. Unable to look away she crouched in the snow frozen in horror by the violence. Finally the man in the coat gained the upper hand as they tumbled toward the bush.

Landing on top the other man he raised the knife and plunged it into his companions throat. Blood gushed from the wound coating the winner in a red wave. Cursing and spitting he continued to stab the rapidly dying man everywhere he could reach with the blade. By the time he was done the snow in front of their hiding place was stained black with blood as steam rose out of the corpse. Rolling off his victim the man started laughing raggedly as she began to shake. She may have seen men die before, she had killed herself, but this was sick. He would have died after the first puncture.

Standing, green eyes gazed down at what they had done. Then he spit on the corpse. "Rank didn't get you much did it?" He looked down at himself as snarled as he kicked the body. "And you ruined my coat!"

Ripping it from his shoulders he held it out and stared at it critically. "I should have waited to kill ya until I was sure the stains would come out." To her horror he tossed the coat over the bush and the sleeve hit her forehead. Suppressing the scream that wanted to erupt from her she stayed absolutely motionless. The man bent down to pick up some snow and she knew what was about to happen. He was going to try to get the blood off and when he bent over he would see them. This wasn't going to end well. The tin man knew too. In the blink of an eye the longcoat had straightened and spotted them. She saw his face curl into a snarl as the knife flashed into his hand again. Wyatt shoved her straight down as the other man cursed she saw nothing but snow as a shot went off. She heard a muffled thump as the man fell into the snow and then Wyatt was pulling her up and away.

"We have to go, Kid." His voice was strained. "There might be more."

She ran after him as her light periodically lanced off her to cover their tracks. After nearly fifteen minutes of sprinting she tugged on his hand. He looked at her and hid them behind a tree that she promptly got sick under. Gasping she straightened and took a step away so she could get a hand full of snow. Putting it in her mouth she cleaned out the taste of bile. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Nodding she wiped her mouth with some more snow and stood up. "You were right about the resistance cells."

That didn't make her feel better. "Fuck." He touched her shoulder and she saw the fear and revulsion in his eyes that he was trying to hide from her. Moving closer she wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. His arms went around her and he put his hand over the back of her head as he tucked her face into his neck. As much as she needed comfort right now she was afraid of being out in the open. "I want to go home now."

"I know, Deeg. Can you go another couple of hours?" He didn't let her go as he spoke but she could feel his head moving around as he looked around them. "When the suns set I'll find us a place to hide. No fire after that." She nodded. "Harder we push today the less we have to tomorrow. I'm not keen on stayin' out here anymore."

"Me neither." She let him go reluctantly. "I'll keep hiding our footprints."

With a tense jerk of his head they started moving again at a much quicker clip than before. She could barely keep up but she wasn't complaining. She didn't mention her increasing drain over her continual magic use and he didn't mention the pain his leg was causing as he started to limp slightly. Her adrenaline kept her going longer than he had asked her to go. It was pitch black before they stopped because he couldn't find a safe enough spot. Finally locating a tree with a hallow in the base he dropped the pack and ripped it open. Tossing one of the blankets on the ground inside the tree he pointed and she crawled in the small space after wiping as much snow as she could from her pant legs.

The tin man rustled around outside and then he moved in backward. He was dragging a big branch after him that covered most of the outside of the hallow. It protected them from the wind and hid them. When he sat down she pulled out the food from the saddlebag and handed him some dried turkey. Eating mechanically in the darkness she consumed far less than was usual for her before curling up in the back. He finished a minute after she did and pulled out the second blanket. Setting both packs by their feet he covered them and gathered her against his chest.

Reaching up to her neck he unzipped her jacket before unwrapping one of her hands. Pulling her right hand up to his eyes he sighed and began to unwrap the second one before pressing them both against his chest to get them warm. "You're half frozen, Darlin'."

She was shaking pretty badly. She was sure the cold wasn't entirely to blame for it. She was royally freaked. "I'm ok."

"No, you're not."

Pressing her lips together she molded the length of her body against his as her arms went around him under his coat. She needed to be close to him right now. His arms snuck under her open jacket and cradled her in response to her silent entreaty. "I've never seen anything like that. It was severely disturbing."

"That one was rabid."

"I'm sorry you had to shoot him." The tin man didn't like to kill anymore than she did.

He stroked her shoulders making them both feel better. "He would have murdered us, and Ozma knows how many other people he already has. Didn't need him runnin' about." She nodded and closed her eyes as she shivered. He bent his head and kissed her gently. "It'll be alright."

"I know." Her arms tightened as she whispered to him. "You make me feel better."

He kissed her again. Then pulled away a bit as he watched her. "You make me feel better too, Darlin'." His hands, which had been on her back until then, left as he rolled over her. His lips brushed hers and she moaned quietly. Holding him more tightly for a moment she reluctantly loosened her grip remembering what the tin man had asked from her. Then he raised one of his hands and caught her face as he deepened the kiss.

Confused, she caught his chin and held him away from her. "Wyatt, as good as this feels you need to stop. I can't handle being on edge tonight."

He lowered his head and kissed her gently. "I'm goin' to take the edge off if you let me." Moving away he gazed down at her and brushed her cheek. "Do you want me to?"

That was a stupid question. She'd been wanting him since the first time he kissed her. The only reason she had agreed to go slow was because she knew it was what he wanted. He was romantic. More than he would admit to. She understood his mindset. He wanted to make their first time special. He wanted to keep her forever so why hurry into anything? When Cain made up his mind about something, especially something important, he didn't change it.

Pressing her face into his hand she looked into his eyes. "No, it's not what you want."

He tilted his head. "Maybe, but it's what we need." He kissed her as his hand began to trace her body under her coat. His lips trailed down to her ear as he whispered to her. "But only a taste."

Her eyes darted to the side so she could see his face as he kissed her cheek. Clutching at his arms she nodded in agreement. With a low rumble his hand trailed down to the bottom of her shirt. Lifting the material he ran his calloused hand up her skin and she gasped at the firm touch. Arching into his hand she pulled her leg up so it was pressed against his hip. Tracing circles on her skin he found her bra and pushed it out of the way of his questing fingers. His thumb brushed her nipple as he cupped her and she felt her body temperature shoot up.

Dizzy with sensation she moaned. "Wyatt!"

Kissing her temple he whispered. "Shhhh. You have to be quiet." Biting her lip she pressed her face into his neck and kissed his skin. "Good girl." His low murmur barely registered over the sensations zinging across her skin. When she started to writhe under his sure hand he dragged it away from her chest and down her stomach. Twisting his hand around he unbuttoned the top of her pants and began to lower the zipper.

Realizing his intended destination she whimpered into his collar as quietly as possible as her own hands fumbled down to his belt buckle. While she was working to loosen the strap he snuck his hand between her legs and hushed her when she gasped. Fighting to stay silent she slammed her eyes shut as he stroked her over her panties loosing focus on her own goal. Her legs fell open and he kissed the side of her head as his fingers worked her harder. Her eyes rolled back, and knowing she couldn't stay quiet much longer she turned her face up so she could lock their lips together.

Catching her cries as they escaped he circled her clit and she went stiff. Stars exploded behind her eyelids and she clutched at his sides as she came hard under his hand. Wyatt continued to stroke her while she shuddered, dragging out the sensations for as long as he could. When her body went slack he removed his hand and laid down beside her as he refastened her pants. Panting quietly she allowed him to hold her close as he tucked the blanket around them.

He ran his hand over her head and she reached for him under the blankets. His strangled whisper barely made it to her ears. "Deeg, you don't need-"

She pressed her lips against his to shut him up. It was only fair that he find some sort of release. And besides she wanted to make him feel as good as he had just made her feel. Deciding that she had waited long enough to fulfill this naughty little fantasy that had been bouncing around her head she acted. Action was what she was best at after all.

Still reeling from her orgasm she managed to work his pants open as he deepened their kiss. Apparently the tin man came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to be discussing this with him and had decided to embrace the experience. Good. One of his hands tangled in her hair and the other was wrapped over her back keeping them balanced on their sides as she reached between them to grab him. Groaning into her mouth his hips bucked toward her and she would have crowed in satisfaction if they hadn't been keeping quiet.

Holding him firmly she began to stroke him slowly. She didn't want to rush this. She knew damn well it had been a long time for him. He should be able to enjoy this for as long as he could. Her intense curiosity over all things Wyatt wasn't prompting her to go fast either. Her fingers explored him while she teased him toward release. Touching and stroking she decided she was a lucky woman. The tin man certainly didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. Running her thumb over the tip of him had Cain letting out a low growl as he tore his lips from hers and started kissing his way roughly down her neck.

Taking that as a sign that he wasn't going to be able to last much longer she speed up her movements. He choked her name into her skin sending a marvelous wave of shivers down her spine and she squeezed him hard and pumped her hand quickly. The tin man's hips shot forward and she felt warm wetness around her fingers as his body went rigid. His breathing hitched for a long minute before he relaxed and started panting against her neck.

Turning her head she kissed every inch of skin she could find as she used a wave of magic to clean him up. Lifting her hands from where she had been holding him she caught his face and turned it to hers. Sensing her need to connect emotionally he began to kiss her gently in return between his quiet gasps. After several minutes of calming caresses he tucked her against him after adjusting his clothes.

"Good?" She wanted to be sure he felt every bit as satisfied as she did as she nuzzled him below his jaw.

He let out a quiet huff. "Better than."

"Great?"

"Closer."

She smiled and snuggled up against him. "I'm not going to push for perfect."

"Why's that?"

"Saving that until we get home."

His lips touched her forehead. "And here I thought I wanted to get you back to the city before." Closing her eyes contentedly she let him lull her to sleep with the steady beat of his heart next to her ear.

Author Note: Whew…


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, that was fun. Let's never do this again."

He grunted in agreement as they walked the last hundred yards to one of the side entrances to the palace. His leg was killing him and he knew they were both about to drop. All he wanted to do was get Deeg inside and set her in front of the hottest fire they could find. She had been shivering non-stop for the last twelve hours. Hell, he was cold. If he was then she must be close to hypothermia. Five feet from the gates one of the two guards on the outside stopped them.

"This is restricted area. Turn around and-"

"Shove it." Deeg choked on a laugh as he ripped off his hat. He may have a few days beard growing but this idiot should recognize them. The kid removed the make shift scarf she was wearing over her head and the uniformed man straightened all over before dropping into a bow. He wasn't mollified. He was tired, dirty, hungry, sore, and worried about his girl. "Let us in or I start shootin'."

"Would you be nice to the boy?" The other guard was scrambling to do what he had ordered as the young man straightened. "He's doing his job like he's supposed to."

"No."

He shoved his hat on his head and they walked in. She rolled her eyes and he saw her wink to the man he had yelled at out of the corner of his eye as they passed. Suppressing his mirth he hustled her into the warmth of the palace. They were spotted by a steward immediately. Clearly relieved the older man came up to them and he nodded in greeting before throwing out rapid-fire orders. He was too tired to stand around and be polite. This particular man knew him well enough not to be offended by his attitude. He'd be sure to thank him properly once he had rested.

"We'll be in the parlor in the family wing. Tell the queen and consort we're back and find my children. We need hot food and coffee. If you can find Raw have him come up to look us over."

"Of course."

"Thank you." Deeg called to him as he dragged her up the closest flight of stairs. Five minutes later and he was shutting them into the empty parlor. He was pleased that there was a fire already burning in the hearth and the curtains were open to let in the light from the setting suns. It had taken them the better part of the day to hike here but he was glad they had pushed as hard as they had. They were finally home. Deeg let out a grateful sigh as she shook out of the old coat and tossed it over a chair. He tossed his duster next to it and ushered her in front of the fire.

Tossing a few more logs on the blaze he straightened up and began to unwrap her hands. She hissed and he darted a glance to her face. "Do your hands hurt?"

"A little bit."

He frowned and unwrapped them quickly. They were chaffed red and slightly swollen. "You've got some mild frostbite." She bit her lip and he held them closer to the fire being careful not to jostle them. "It's alright. It's nothin' bad. Raw should be able to fix it in a minute or two. Just keep 'em close to the fire until he gets here." He thought it would be a good idea to keep all of her close to the fire actually. He checked her pulse and found it beating harder than usual but it wasn't near as bad as it could have been.

"Ok."

Hovering over her shoulder as he studied her hands they both jumped when the door banged open. Their heads flew up simultaneously and he saw the consort fly into the room. "Spitfire!"

"Ahamo!" She smiled happily and held out her arms to him as he raced across the room to her and captured her in a bear hug. She giggled as he spun her around and hugged him back until he set her on her feet.

"Are you alright? Where have you been?" He was looking her all over as the queen and her sister came into the room. She was assaulted all over again and he smiled slightly as she tried to answer their questions but was repeatedly cut off by other ones. Then Az caught her hand and she yelped. Alarmed, he stepped forward and yanked her out of the small group in order to put her in front of the fire again.

"What happened? I'm sorry!" Her sister, dressed in a simple green dress, hovered erratically next to the queen.

"She's fine, Princess." Deeg smiled reassuringly at her sister. "Got some frostbite. Needs to see Raw and she'll be right as rain."

Az stepped next to her and apologized again. His girl smiled and told her she was being silly when Jeb and his wife came in followed closely by Raw and Glitch. This was a reunion.

"Dad." His son sagged with relief and he moved past the royal family to his boy and tugged him into a tight hug as Laura smiled at him.

"Jeb." He felt unbelievable better at the sight of his son and daughter. "I missed you son." His boy hugged him back

Raw was already moving toward the kid and he let go of Jeb so he could kiss the red head on the cheek. He had been hit with a number of emotions when Jeb told him he was going to ask her to marry him but he truly thought his son had fallen in love with a wonderful woman. Laura had been orphaned early on in the war, and while he didn't know the details he knew she'd had a rough time of it growing up. Even with all her hardship she had made herself into something. She had joined up with a resistance cell at thirteen and Adora had taken her in. His wife had raised Laura along with Jeb until she died. Laura had become a competent soldier and had a gift with animals the likes of which he'd never seen before. She could break and train a horse in a week.

She was polite as anyone he had ever met and he had a sneaking suspicion she had come from a wealthy background. Her parents had most likely been killed in a political move by the witch. She never made mention of them or where she had come from and he didn't ask. He was sure Jeb knew and that was enough for him. It had only taken her three weeks of quiet work to get on his good side. Considering he was still reeling from the suit and tossing Zero in prison without succumbing to the impulse to kill him he gave her points for that. The only other people that had managed to wiggle their way into his graces were his traveling companions and his son.

Once he realized Jeb was serious about his choice he had made an effort to integrate her into their small family. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. He wanted to be able to help his son and his wife if they needed it. He wanted Laura to feel at home not out of place when she was married. That was how it was supposed to be. It wasn't fair that she didn't have anyone to turn to if she had a problem. When Laura realized what he was doing she had asked him if he would have dinner with them. The ice had broken in a rush after that and now he considered her his daughter. He'd always wanted one and she seemed more than happy to have him treat her like one.

"How're you doin', Blossom?"

"Worried sick!" The young woman hugged him tightly and he patted her back in apology. Then he frowned and held her away from him. Gazing down at her loose yellow dress he made a startled noise when he spotted the small bulge he had felt.

Jeb laughed happily. "Surprise."

Laura flattened the dress over her stomach with fluttering fingers as a huge smile broke over his face. "Oh, Flower. Look at you." Joy exploded in his chest and he stopped himself from reaching out to touch the bulge. He didn't want to scare her. She was a bit jumpy at times.

Her light green eyes found his and she smiled hesitantly before grabbing the hand that was between them and putting it on her belly. He knew he was grinning like a fool at the thought of a new baby in the family. Jeb came up next to Laura and kissed her cheek before glaring at him. "We were going to tell you when you were supposed to get back _last month_. Where have you two been?"

"That's a bit of a story." He answered distractedly. He was far more interested in the fact that he was going to be a grandfather. "When are you due?"

"Mid-summer." He continued to smile idiotically and the quiet woman squeezed the hand he had on her stomach. "Are you happy?"

"Happy isn't the right word." He smiled at her and took her hand as he let her stomach go. "I'm down right bowled over with joy."

Her eyes brightened and Jeb shook his head. "She thought you wouldn't be excited."

"That's nonsense." He tugged her to a couch and she sat down. Kissing her hand he let her go and smiled teasingly down at her. "Don't even need Jeb anymore with a new one on the way. Let's hope the kid takes after its mother."

"I'm right here." Jeb muttered good-naturedly as he sat next to her.

"We'll talk more once things settle down. You two tell me if you need anything."

"Don't we always?" Jeb caught her hand as he spoke but Laura shot him a grateful smile and mouthed later to him. He laughed and retreated a few feet.

Picking a nearby loveseat he sank down onto the cushions. He shoved his leg out and tried not to wince at the throbbing. He was too happy to care. Around them the royal family were doing the same and Deeg plopped down next to him tiredly. Raw approached him and he nodded at him. "Hey, Furball."

Brown eyes greeted him. Raw said more with his body language than words but he could tell the viewer was happy to them. "Tin man and princess missed. Raw could only see lake and feel pain."

"I'm fine now."

The viewer rumbled softly and crouched down. At his nod of consent he set his gloved hands over the wounds on his calf. "Healing well. Will finish." There was a lull in conversation all around the room as white-hot heat shot into the area. He gritted his teeth and the heat vanished abruptly with all the pain.

"Thanks, Raw."

"Cain welcome." The viewer retreated and then the questions started again.

"Alright!" Deeg held up her now normally colored hand. Raw had fixed her up as well. "Look we have a problem people."

"The two of you ran into a problem? How shocking." Glitch commented without much surprise but a cheeky smile. "Perhaps you should tell us about it from the beginning."

He nodded. "On our way back from the meeting with the guild we got ambushed at the first town we stopped at for gas."

"By who?" Jeb was tapping his fingers on the sofa. It was his normal reaction when he was angered.

Deeg answered. "Longcoats."

He could already tell they'd be telling this story in tandem. "Six of them. We got out of town but just barely. I figure we killed between three and four of 'em but I got shot in the leg."

Deeg nodded. "I managed to call a travel storm when the last of them cornered us."

"You what?" Her mother's lavender eyes were huge.

"I was a little desperate. We ended up at the tepee."

"Tepee? My tepee?" Ahamo questioned. Only another slipper would know what she was talking about.

He raised an eyebrow and turned to his girl. "Is there more than one?"

The kid shrugged. "How would I know that?"

"Well you knew about the one you took us to."

"Yeah, but I'd been there before."

"Two years ago."

"What does the length of time have to do with the original question? I really think you should ask someone else about it. Besides, you know I didn't plan for us to end up there."

"Excuse me?" They both turned to look at the Glitch and found everyone else in the room looking at them with various degrees of amusement. "The problem?"

He grumbled. "Right. Deeg patched me up and we stayed there until two days ago when I could walk back here."

The kid shifted and looked toward the fire. "We think there are longcoats hiding in every town. They started their own resistance cells."

"_What?_" Jeb was enraged. "How do you know that?"

He picked up the conversation as Deeg retreated internally. He knew she was still reeling from what they had watched. They may have been able to distract each other last night but even that particular activity couldn't keep the memories away for long. "To be honest we don't know for sure. It's the only thing we came up with that makes any type of sense. We got ambushed out on the west side and when we were hiking back-" His eyes darted to the kid. "We ran across two more longcoats."

Deeg nodded. "They were talking about wearing their old uniforms too close to town."

"What town?" He could see the queen thinking.

"No idea. We didn't stop."

Ahamo stood up and started pacing. "Did you head straight here? Dead north?"

"We did."

"Thresher." The consort stopped in front of the window. "That town is as big as a breadbox."

The queen nodded. "Master Raw, we need your help."

"Understand. Must contact other viewers in city. Stronger together. Will see farther and better." Raw made some quick calculations. "Should be able to find answers by late afternoon tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Majesty is always welcome. Must go. Contact must be quick. Quiet. Raw will visit tomorrow. Happy back."

The viewer left quickly and passed two stewards on his way out. Deeg let out a grateful sound at the sight of a tray of food and he sighed at the sight of two steaming cups of coffee. The men set the plates in front of them and bowed. Deeg thanked them and he nodded tiredly as they retreated. The girl was on the stew they had brought them in an instant and he watched her closely as she pulled her legs up to prop the bowl as she ate.

He decided he'd rather have coffee and picked up the cup and leaned back into the sofa. He knew they were being critically inspected by everyone left in the room and grumbled as he drank. Deeg paused in her rapid consumption to mutter to him. "They were worried. Let them get it out of their systems."

Jerking his head he glanced over to Jeb. "What's been happenin' here?"

For the next half an hour they were given a brief overview of what they had missed while they ate and relaxed. The large majority of it had been trying to figure out where they had vanished to and Raw's insistence that he knew they were safe. Then there had been the corresponding hushing up of the incident until he and Deeg showed up again. By the time their families had filled them in they had both finished eating and his girl was leaning into the corner of the sofa to keep herself up.

Ahamo noticed the problem as quickly as he did. "You two have done enough for the day. You should clean up and sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

"Wyatt?" Deeg leaned over to him and he raised an eyebrow at her purposefully loud whisper. "I think he's trying to tell us we stink."

Glitch chuckled as he answered her. "That's you not me."

She hit his arm and stood up. "Please. I'm a princess. We do not smell, ever." She glanced at her sister. "Do we, Az?"

Dark eyes widened as her sister scrambled for a response. It took her a moment too long and came out less than believable. "No."

He smirked and Deeg huffed. "Fine. I see how it is. No support from anyone." Sticking her tongue out at the room in general as she bent down to hug her sister. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He followed her about twenty minutes later. He didn't want anything to be obvious until they talked about how they should go about this and he wanted to be sure Jeb and Laura didn't need anything before he left. It had taken him less than an hour to turn into a mother hen. When Jeb raised an eyebrow and pointed out that he had been the one shot and trapped in the middle of nowhere he had wished them goodnight promising to find them for lunch the next day. He had a feeling he would be sleeping through breakfast.

He walked into his room with his duster over his arm and tried to decide how to sneak into his girl's rooms. It shouldn't be hard considering her suit was one door down from his. First he wanted to get clean. Walking into his bedroom from his sitting room he tossed his coat over the chair in front of his desk and headed for the tub. Starting the water he stripped out of his clothes pleased that he wouldn't have to wear this particular shirt or pair of trousers again. They may have gotten him through the last month but he was tired of them. Kicking them to a corner he got into the hot water and sighed.

Letting the heat run into him he enjoyed it for a few minutes before working up the energy to wash himself. Fifteen minutes later and he had gotten all the grime off and stepped out of the cooling water. Wrapping a towel around his waist he bent down and dug his razor out of his vest. He was starting to feel like a new person. Scraping the stubble from his chin he wiped off the last of the shaving cream and picked up a clean set of clothes he had taken into the tiled room with him.

Dressed, he ran the towel over his head once more before heading to the door. He wanted to find his girl and curl up with her. He wanted to hold her now that he was clean. He wanted to make her come again. He wanted to hear her cry out without having to worry about someone sneaking up on them in the darkness. He wanted to see her cheeks flush tomorrow morning when they woke up tangled together. If he were honest with himself he just wanted her.

Opening the door to his bedroom he turned on the light and paused in the doorway. Deeg was already under his blankets sleeping peacefully. Smiling softly at the picture she made he stopped next to her long enough to push her wet hair away from her face. The kid sighed and shifted. He saw a flash of blue and pulled the blanket away a bit. She was wearing a silky blue nightgown that clung to her body.

He sighed. Unwilling to wake her up after the long day of hiking he collapsed into the bed next to her after making sure his door was locked. Wrapping his arm around her waist had her twisting toward him in her sleep with a satisfied murmur. Maybe all he wanted was to have them stay like this for a little while longer. Everything else could wait until they had rested.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Coming awake with a small sound she opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in Wyatt's arms. He had her pressed under his chin while he slept. His deep breathing and the sound of his heartbeat close to her ear soothed her in a way she had never experienced before their time in the tepee. Lifting her hand she reached up and ran it through the soft hair behind his ear. The tin man tightened his arm around her and mumbled incoherently.

Smiling at him she tilted her head and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. Cain came awake mid-kiss and hummed as his hand came up to cradle her head. With one of his tangled in her hair and the other around her waist she was free to move him as she pleased. Bracing her arm she rolled them over until he was beneath her. He broke the kiss and she smiled down at him.

"Good morning."

He tickled her neck and she laughed even as she pressed up into his hand. "Good morning, Darlin'."

Leaning down she pecked him on the jaw as his raspy voice reached her ears. "You weren't supposed to let me sleep last night."

"I wasn't about to wake you up after a two day forced march through knee deep snow."

"Don't exaggerate. There wasn't that much." He laughed quietly and she started kissing her way down his neck. "I was supposed to be able to take advantage of you when we got home and you let me pass out. Not very nice." She punctuated that with a gentle nip at his collarbone.

"What can I say? Sometimes I'm a bad man."

Smiling at him she raised her head and stared down at him while she propped herself up on his chest. His warm eyes were on hers as he cupped her cheek. She was still adjusting to having him look at her like that and felt herself blushing. His lip curled up at the corner and she turned her face into his hand in an effort to hide the pink tinge. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly flustered, seeing as she had been in a much more intimate position with him two nights ago, but for some reason she was. Maybe it was the tenderness he was displaying.

"I don't think you know how to be a bad man."

He flipped them over so fast she barely registered the movement before he was on top of her. Leaning in he placed a feather light kiss beside her ear and whispered. "Darlin', there's quite a lot I know how to do that you aren't aware of." A jolt of anticipation hit her at his confident assertion and her legs came up of their own accord to hold him in place. When her knees locked against his hips the tin man continued on. "But I intend to show you."

Her heart hammered in her chest as her hands slid over his chest. Finding the buttons she began to loosen them. She felt him smile against her heated skin at her eager movements. Then one of his hands was running up her ribs over the silky material of her nightgown. He was touching her just hard enough to make her squirm. "Are you going to be patient for me this mornin'?" She moaned quietly as he began to suck on her neck. "Going to bring you up so slow you won't be able to stop once I get you started."

"Wyatt." She couldn't help the whimper that fell from her. He hadn't even been touching her for two minutes and she thought she might die if he didn't speed this up. "Don't make me wait anymore."

His hand settled over her breast and he cupped her gently. "I'm not." He kissed her deeply. "We only get one first time. Let's make it last."

How could she say no to that? She arched as the last of his buttons was freed. Running her hands over his skin had him sighing and her interest shifting from immediate gratification to exploring him. Her fingers began to trace the numerous scars she could see beneath the smattering of hair on his chest. He nuzzled his face into her hair as she traced the round mark on his shoulder. She remembered the day he got this all too well. Tilting her head she kissed the slightly roughened skin.

He tickled the side of her face as he watched her and she turned her head to kiss his neck. Rumbling at the contact he allowed her to take hold of the fabric and push it off his shoulders. Wrapping his arm under her he pushed them up. Sitting up he dragged her over his legs and she straddled him as she pushed his shirt off. Catching the back of her head he pressed their lips together firmly and she threw her arms over his shoulders. Molded flat against him she felt him harden against her thigh as he traced every inch of her body with his calloused hands.

Rocking her hips had him sighing her name as his palms flattened over her thighs and squeezed them firmly. Letting him go she leaned away slightly and raised her arms over her head. His eyes blazed at the invitation and he caught the hem of her blue nighty. Even with the hard lust she could see raging behind his eyes he was all gentleness. Lifting the fabric carefully he ran his knuckles up her body as he removed it. When it was off her he tossed it to the side as his eyes raked from the tips of her raised fingers, down her exposed chest, across her lacy panties, and over her bare legs.

She felt a new blush sweep over her as she lowered her arms. She had never felt this exposed before and tried not to cover herself. His hands ghosted down her spine and he murmured appreciatively. "Ozma, you're gorgeous."

The statement, so full of honesty, both eased her worry that he wouldn't like what he saw and prodded her desire. Catching his hands as they swept around her hips she lifted them to her chest and pressed into them. She wanted him to touch her. She wanted him to mean it. She thought she could let him take his time as long as he kept running his hands over her.

Wyatt didn't disappoint her. Laying her down over the sheets he propped himself up on one elbow and ran his opposite hand over her leg. Lowering his head he trailed his lips down her collarbone and across the swell of her chest. Slowing down when she gasped he teased her before wrapping his mouth around her nipple and sucking lightly. Letting out a low mewl she tangled her hands in his hair in an effort to hold him in place. The tin man bit her lightly before switching to her other breast. Whimpering, she started to thrash and he used his body weight to pin her to the bed.

Unable to escape the assault she let the sensations he was producing wash over her. After endless minutes he let her go and continued his way down her body taking the time to trace the underside of her breasts. When his tongue circled her navel her foggy mind worked out what he was about to do. The unexpected realization had her going from hot and bothered to extremely nervous in a flash. She wasn't innocent but this was well out of her experience. She wasn't at all sure she wanted him to do this. She went stiff the second his fingers hooked around the side of her panties and he paused with his head hovering over her right hip.

Blue eyes found hers and she silently tugged on his arm. All she wanted was the tin man back up next to her. She knew what to do with him over her. Hell, she knew what to do with him under her. But no one had ever tried this with her. She hadn't thought he would either. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself right at this moment. She thought that could wait for another time. The tin man appeared to have different plans.

Turning his head he kissed her inner thigh. "Relax, Darlin'. I intend to taste you."

She tried to scoot away but he looped an arm around her leg before spreading his hand over her stomach. She protested faintly, feeling foolish. "You don't need to."

"And if I want to?" She hadn't expected that. It stumped her, which only made her more nervous. Wyatt watched her for a second before his eyebrow popped up. He must have caught onto her silent panic. His fingers started to tickle her abdomen. Her breathing shallowed and he questioned her calmly. "You haven't done this before?"

Mortified, she let out a short breath. "Yes, but no one's ever…" She trailed off.

Shifting, he laid his head on her stomach and gazed up at her as his fingers continued to dance across her skin. She could see him thinking. He came to a decision quickly, and sitting up, he kissed her knee before grabbing the lace and pulling it down her legs. When it was off he ran his hands from her ankles to her hips and slowly spread her legs open. She shifted anxiously but he moved back up her body and laid down over her. Letting out a relieved sigh she allowed him to kiss her.

She was so engaged in how good he tasted that she didn't notice one of his hands had left her until he ran it between her legs. Gasping, she broke away. Cain didn't give her time to adjust to the feeling of his fingers rubbing her before he dipped one of them inside of her. Clutching at his arms she tilted her hips up as she started letting out soft, hitching breaths. Encouraged by the sounds she was making he pressed a second finger in her as his thumb stretched up and circled her clit.

"Wyatt!"

Growling in her ear he sped up. "More?"

"Yes!" She clutched at his arm and heard him chuckle. He was making her feel too good for her to care about his cocky attitude.

"Are you going to come for me?" Gasping, her hips began to jerk erratically as her head spun. "That's it." He pressed down with his thumb and she cried out as she teetered on the edge. "Fall."

As if his voice was a command she shattered with a shout. Lights exploded behind her eyes as she went stiff. She felt the tin man's lips on her forehead as she started to come down and weakly grasped at his shoulders. Pushing her hair behind her ear he stroked her cheek as she dragged her eyes open. She hadn't even realized she had shut them. He smiled at her. "You with me, Deeg?"

"Definitely." Forcing her arms to move she reached between them and tugged at the fastening on his pants as she kissed him briefly. "Why are your pants still on?"

He chuckled at her question and slid off her long enough to get rid of them. Then he was settling over her and kissing her like he would never get to again. Feeling his bare skin all the way down hers she wrapped her legs over his waist and molded herself against him. His arms snuck under her shoulders as he attacked her lips and then he was rubbing himself along the outside of her.

Her arms tightened around his back as she tried to grasp what was about to happen. She couldn't think of a time she had ever wanted anything this badly before. This was Wyatt. This was the best friend she'd ever had. At that thought she nearly stopped breathing. She needed him inside her right now before she was forced to take drastic action.

"Wyatt." Her ragged plea was met with his hand running behind her head and holding her still as he stared down at her. Her fingers splayed out over his back as he rested his forehead on hers. He was silently asking her for permission to continue as he watched her and she nodded. Touching her nose with his briefly he shifted his hips and she had a brief moment of nearly unbearable need before he was pressing into her. "Oh."

His eyes never left hers as he slid home and she clutched at him as she bit her lip. This felt amazing but she hadn't done this in a long time. He was stretching her in a way she wasn't used to and she tried to shift below him to alleviate the slight ache. Above her the tin man was groaning as his eyes flared with heat. His fingers tightened in her hair and he panted out a question. "Are you ok?"

Kissing him she tightened her legs. The discomfort wouldn't last long and she didn't want him to worry about it. She just wanted him to start moving. "Yes." The tin man opened his mouth and she cut him off. "I need you to be easy this time."

Eyes flashing in understanding he began to rock his hips slowly. Moaning at the feeling of being filled up she moved with him as they watched each other. Her heart was beating hard and she could barely think with the tin man inside of her like this. And he was being so careful when she was sure his body was begging him to take her hard and fast.

Falling into his gaze she let him take the lead in this dance as she held him as close to her as she could. Reading her body he slowly increased the speed of his thrusts and she began to spiral up. Her legs tightened as small noises of excitement began to escape her. Wyatt started moving faster and their skin rubbed slickly together. Her pleasure built to nearly painful levels and she clawed at his back as she lost her rhythm. Pushing her face up with the hand he still had under her head he pressed a frantic kiss against her lips before breaking breathlessly away.

"Scream for me."

Gods, how she wanted to. She choking on an exclamation as he swiveled his hips and the most powerful orgasm she had ever experienced rolled over her. She yelled his name loudly and he called her name in return as his hips slammed into hers. Grinding flat against her she felt him release inside her in a warm wave that sent a second blast of pleasure through her. "Wyatt!"

Shoving her into the blankets he pinned her in place as they shook together. An endless minute later and Cain went limp over her. His warm weight soothed her as she drifted in the afterglow. She reached up lazily to run her fingers through his hair. She wasn't sure she had ever felt this good before. With a soft murmur he raised himself enough to slip out of her and lay down beside her. She whimpered at the dull ache he left behind. Still, she didn't worry about it. The sex had been well worth the slight amount of pain.

Moving languidly she stretched her neck out and kissed him softly. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her up against him. Stroking her arm he sighed into her mouth. Her arms went around him again as they started to touch one another. Sated from their release they moved slowly. Wyatt caressed her silently and the lack of verbal communication was sending her mind to a place she'd never been with him before.

She was used to their teasing banter. It was natural, and after two years comfortable. This quiet touching, followed so closely by their lovemaking, had her reacting to him like a lover not a friend. Then again that was what he was now wasn't it? He hit a sensitive spot while he was exploring her wrist and she gasped. Yes, that was what he was. She sighed and found his lips again.

"Wyatt." She stretched out below his hand as it ran down her side. She was torn between a sudden and intense shyness and the nearly overwhelming need to have him inside her again. Once wasn't enough. She kissed him harder and pressed into him. "Please, Tin Man."

He grabbed her thigh and dragged it over his hip without a word. His kisses weren't gentle anymore. They were demanding. Whimpering at his intensity she didn't hesitate to spread her legs for him again. With a growl of approval he pushed into her and she moaned. Holding her hips he rolled them over so she was on top of him and used his hands to get her moving. Getting the hint she pushed herself straight and looked down at him with hooded eyes. Running his hands up he cupped her breasts as she began to roll her hips. Bracing herself with her hands she began to lift herself before falling down over him.

The tin man groaned and she tightened around him at the sound. Cursing darkly he thrust his hips up when she came down again and she nearly screamed at the feeling. This was amazing and he was only making her feel better by the moment. His hands fell to her hips again as she started to loose her focus. Throwing her head back she rode him more quickly before she lost control. Moaning loudly he swept her under him and continued to drive her up. Three sharp thrusts later and she came with a strangled cry. He followed her immediately.

Flipping again he let her sprawl over his chest and she lay limply over him. His hands tangled in her mussed curls as he went limp below her. Breathing raggedly she lay still as they recovered. After awhile she started to feel cold as the sweat from their bodies began to evaporate and shivered. Wyatt tickled her ribs before reaching out and grabbing a corner of the blanket. Tossing it over them he relaxed and let his head fall to the side as his eyes closed.

Kissing his jaw she slid to the mattress next to him and cuddled into his side. He twisted unhurriedly and spooned around her. The heat from his body seeped into her and her eyes drooped. His thumb ran over her knuckles. "How're you feelin', Darlin'?"

She was sure good didn't fully cover it. "Like I could stay this way forever."

His arm stretched out to cover hers. He kissed her behind the ear and whispered lovingly. "We can."

Author Note: Yup.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Tin Man is not my property.

"Come here." Grabbing his girl's hips he dragged her between his legs and kissed her warmly. Deeg sighed into his mouth and wrapped her arms around him. Warm contentment settled over him as he held her. He hadn't enjoyed the few minutes they'd been apart while she snuck out of his room to get dressed. He had followed her as soon as he had on a clean set of clothes and shaved. When she had walked out of her room in a pair of black trousers and a pretty embroidered blouse he had caught her while he sat in the window seat of her outer room.

Breaking away he lowered his face and kissed and nuzzled his way along her neck. Deeg cooed happily and clutched at the back of his vest. Inhaling deeply he appreciated the perfume she had put on. She smelled like flower blossoms and Deeg. Just under that he could make out his own scent lingering on her warm skin and rumbled approvingly. He could rub himself against her all day. He wasn't sure he had ever been this relaxed before and Deeg was all warmth and affection. He hadn't felt this wanted in as long as he could remember.

"I thought you had to be somewhere." He could tell she was anything but bothered by his attentions as her fingers ran over his shoulders.

"I have a few minutes yet." He wasn't ready to let her go. He kissed the base of her neck tenderly. He'd been in her three times since they'd woken up and he wanted her again already. They'd only broken apart the last time fifteen minutes ago after a long bout of exploratory touching and talking. He felt like a teenager with the way he was reacting to having her. Even knowing how close they were before hadn't prepared him for what they had done. He had forgotten how strongly he attached himself to a lover.

He hoped Deeg was ready for this because he couldn't go back now. He loved her too much. Deeg was too close to him, part of him, part of his life, and part of his family. He needed her. Gods how he needed her. Nothing else mattered except that for a moment and he pulled her even closer to him. His girl mewled and crawled onto his lap as they kissed. "Only a few?"

Sighing regretfully he slowed their hot kisses down and rested his forehead on hers. He simply didn't have time to take her again. At least not the way he wanted to. They could get back to that later. "I promised I'd meet Jeb and Laura for lunch."

Holding her he leaned into the wall behind them and let her cuddle against his chest as he rubbed her side. "Ok." She kissed him briefly. "Did you get to talk to them last night after I left?"

"I did." He hummed and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Her arm looped around his shoulders as she pressed her face into his hand. She was the most affectionate thing he'd ever seen. She certainly hadn't held anything back in bed this morning although she had come close to panic when he had tried to make her come with his mouth. That had surprised him but now that he was thinking on it maybe it shouldn't. She was young even if she acted like she was twice as old as she was most of the time.

As soon as he realized he had scared her he had abandoned that plan. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was frighten her. He figured once she was more used to having him touch her he would try that again. She would enjoy that particular activity if he could get her to relax enough to let him kiss her. He wondered exactly how experienced she was. She certainly knew enough to keep up with him and to know to ask him to be gentle. For her to be that sensitive she must have been celibate for quite some time. Interesting but also unsurprising.

The girl was loyal. That meant she was picky. He was sure she had been selective about her past suitors. The kid had probably gone long periods of time without a lover before. He knew she hadn't had one since they met. Not that he had either but he understood why he hadn't seen anyone. He wondered what her reasoning for avoiding a relationship had been. She had certainly been presented with a fair few men, and many of them had been good matches. No one would have batted an eye if she had decided to take one as a lover. She was a grown woman that had proved she was capable of taking care of herself and anyone else that came along. Her judgment was solid enough to avoid any questions from her parents or the advisors. But she had remained alone.

His girl caught his hand in her smaller one and kissed his knuckles. She wasn't alone anymore though. She was with him now and he had every intention of keeping her. Now that they were home he could go about this the way he had wanted to in the first place. Raising one of his fingers he brushed her cheek. "Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

"Dinner?" She tilted her head. "We always have dinner together unless you're with your family."

"Not with everyone else. Just us."

She blinked her big blue eyes at him. "You want to take me on a date?"

"What?" He didn't know what that meant.

She rephrased her question. "Are you trying to woo me, Tin Man?"

"I thought that was rather obvious."

She laughed at him. "I'd like that."

"Good." He kissed her before easing her off his lap reluctantly. "I have to go, Darlin'. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." She kissed him one more time. "I need to go see Az and my parents anyway. Have a nice lunch."

"I will. After this you're comin' with me for family visits."

Something flashed in her eyes. "Really?"

"Really." Kissing her cheek he smiled at her. "I'll find you in a little while alright?"

"Alright." She smiled and he left to find his children. Five minutes later and he walked into the parlor closest to their rooms. Laura was trying to suppress a smile at Jeb as he made her tea and he smirked at the two of them. Jeb was doting on her and she knew it. He couldn't blame his boy. He remembered how he had treated Adora when she was pregnant with Jeb. She hadn't had to lift a finger for anything for a week. Then she had lost patience with him and chased him out of the kitchen so she could make herself a snack.

"You have him trained as well as your horses, Flower."

Her eyes sparkled at his teasing tone while Jeb glared at him and set her tea in front of her. "He was harder to break."

He chuckled as he sat and Jeb muttered. "She doesn't need to wear herself out."

She shook her head and sipped her tea. He settled himself and looked her over with a smile. "How're you doin'? Any problems?"

"None." Laura set her cup down. "Raw has been checking on me every day or two. He says everything is fine. He's growing the way he should."

He let out a satisfied nod. He'd need to be sure to thank Furball for taking care of her while he was away. Then her words caught up with him. "He?"

Jeb grinned proudly and set a muffin in front of her. "He told us he knew what it was if we wanted to know. We did."

Ozma, a boy. He grinned at the thought. He was going to be a grandfather. This was going to be fun. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Laura looked at him and he saw a slight hesitation in her eyes. "We're going to name him Evan after my father."

"That's a right nice name." He smiled as a memory filtered to the surface. "Knew a good man by that name once."

She never broke eye contact. "I know."

He tilted his head to the side as he regarded her. He saw Jeb catch her hand and twine their fingers together. Oh. He sat back and stared at her while he wrapped his mind around what she had shared with him after two years of nothing. He had only known one man with that name before. "Your father was the Mystic Man?"

Laura nodded once. "He smuggled my mother and I out of the city right before the witch caught him. He was afraid she would kill us or worse."

He had thought the Mystic Man had lost his family when the war first started. There had never been as much as a whisper of a rumor about them after everything had started and the resistance had looked. The man had been one of the first to get captured and had more than one friend among the rebels who were worried about his welfare. Then he had been drugged and couldn't help them anymore. It had never occurred to him that he had the foresight to save his family. He had met the Mystic Man's wife once. She had been as beautiful as her daughter was. Now that he thought on it he saw the family resemblance. She favored her mother's looks much more heavily than her father's. He wasn't surprised he had missed it. "What happened to your mother?"

Old grief filled her eyes. "She got sick when I was twelve. I don't know what it was. She went to see an alchemist but he turned out to be loyal to the witch and we had to run again. She died when we were hiding in the woods. She saved me by staying out there."

"I'm sorry."

She gave him a strained smile. "It's not your fault. My parents were brave. Jeb told me how my father helped kill the witch." Pride replaced her sadness. "He died a hero."

"Yes, he did. I'm right glad to have known him." He held out his hand to her and she took it slowly. He squeezed it gently. "He'd be proud of you. If you ever want to know something about him you let me know. We can talk if that's what you'd like."

"Thank you." He could tell she meant that even if she wasn't going to ask him any questions right at this moment. He also made a mental note to find out what had happened to the Mystic Man's land and inheritance. It belonged to Laura and her baby. Ozma only knew what the future would bring. As much as he disliked the idea of her ending up alone for some reason he wanted her to be able to fall back on anything she could. She deserved some sort of stability. He would make sure she got that. Ahamo was a discrete man when he put his mind to it. He had no doubt the two of them could resolve this in a matter of hours.

He smiled. "You're welcome." Jeb nodded at him approvingly. He let her go after a moment and looked at Laura as his mind turned over the information. If she was related to the mystic man he was sure she had a few hidden talents. "Do you have magic? Is that why you're good with animals like Jeb?"

She giggled and the tension drained away. His son rolled his eyes. "Nice, Dad."

"Yes, I have magic but it's not like his was."

That wasn't unusual. Magic ran in families but it could change pretty dramatically between generations. An earth mage could have a child that turned out to have water magic. It didn't make much sense most of the time. The only line that was stable at all was the royal line. All the women in the Gale family had a strong gift of light. Generation after generation it never changed. No one could explain it.

"What type of magic do you have?"

"Fairy magic."

His eyebrow popped up. The only thing more unusual than that was pure light or darkness. It did explain her way with horses though. Fairy magic was amazingly versatile. It was linked to nature. Anything alive would respond to his daughter in law. Plants, animals, even people if she was strong enough. Animals would be drawn to her like moths to a flame. She would have been a pretty prize if the witch had caught her. He silently blessed the Mystic Man for getting her out when he did.

"Explains a bit." He indicated her stomach. "That one is goin' to have a gift if you do."

She ran her hand over her stomach. "I know. I should be able to teach him."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry yourself about it. Tutor can help you if you run into any problems. He teaches magic for a livin'."

"See?" Jeb appeared to have brought up the same point before. "I told you."

She nodded but seemed hesitant about approaching the man in question. "No need to be nervous. I'll threaten to shoot him before you ask him to teach your boy."

Jeb's lip curled up at the corner as Laura shook her head. "Jeb said that too."

"You won't have a problem then." He winked at her as he reached for the tea. "Between us we'll have him so scared he won't dare say no."

"Thank you."

"No need for thanks, Blossom." He reached for a sandwich sitting in the center of the table. Now that all the baby talk had simmered down he asked them about what he missed this morning. "Has Raw come up with anything yet?"

"No, he was herding about eight other viewers including Kalm into the west tower though. I figure they'll be another hour or so. Once they figure out what's happening we can make a plan. Hopefully this won't get messy."

Laura sipped her tea thoughtfully. "I would think we could take care of this quickly. They can't have much to work with or we would have noticed food and medical supplies going missing with the shortages we've been having. A few of the new advisors have been monitoring it pretty closely and the merchants would have reported any major sales like that. They haven't been collecting horses either. I have contacts on nearly every ranch in the Outer Zone. I would have heard about it."

He agreed with her. "If the two we ran into on the way back were any indication of how they've been operating then I think you're right about that. There's no chain of command. Not a good one anyway. No cells can function properly like that."

"Maybe, but someone in charge would make our job easier in some ways." Jeb bit into an apple and swallowed before continuing. "Get the leader and the cell falls apart. They either scatter forever or they're forced to fall back to someone less experienced or competent. That would make it easier to catch them. Stupid leaders produce poor plans."

"They can't have much magic either." He continued eating. "The queen or one of the princesses would have felt it."

"Well-" Jeb finished the apple. "No point in worrying about it until Raw and his friends are done."

He did love Jeb's absolute practicality. Being a resistance leader tended to make people react in one of two ways. They went crazy or they were unmoved by anything and everything. Jeb had fallen into the second category. Since he'd found his son the only thing that had caused him to get jumpy was asking Laura to marry him and they'd been through some situations that would make other men flee in fear. Jeb handled disasters so well he had been made a general in the Ozian army at the age of eighteen. He was damn proud of the man his son had become. He was even more proud watching him with his young wife. He knew Jeb was an excellent husband and would be a wonderful father. He couldn't have asked for anything else.

"So what's a tepee?" Jeb asked him as they ate.

"A hole in the ground."

"You were in a hole?" Laura asked.

He grunted. "Apparently Ahamo built the place. It's a bit like a cabin dug into the ground. It's hidden real well out by a lake. You have to go down a ladder to get inside and the top was surrounded by logs that closed to keep out the snow."

"That sounds like a crawl space."

"Was nicer than that. Had a shower and a bed. Not to mention a pantry and medical supplies. It wasn't bad other than the lack of windows."

"You're lucky you weren't hurt any worse than you were. You could have died."

"If hadn't been for Deeg I would have. Nearly bled out. She had her head on right and turns out she studied healing before she slipped over. Wasn't exactly a pleasant process but she got me to stop bleeding."

Jeb's eyes darted to his leg. "What did she do?"

"Cauterized it."

"Ouch." Laura wrinkled her nose and Jeb shook his head in sympathy. He was sure both of them had seen that done before. "I didn't know she had the stomach for healing."

"Girl threatened to knock me out when I tried to move around too much."

Jeb chuckled. "She would have too."

"You have no idea. It was frightenin'."

Laura laughed at his false shudder of fear. "You must have listened considering you're still alive."

"She did a right good job of keepin' me breathin'."

"DG has a way of keeping a situation together." That was high praise coming from Jeb. There was nothing he admired more than someone with a level head in a crisis situation. "I'm glad she was with you."

"Me too." His son really had no idea. "Not many people would have lasted a month in a hole with me."

Laura shook her head and he wondered what she was thinking. He would find out at some point he was sure. Until then he reminded himself that he and Deeg needed to have a talk about their new relationship. He needed to know where they stood and if she wanted other people to know about it right now. She had every right to make that decision on her own. He didn't want to make her feel trapped or forced into a public relationship if she wasn't ready. Besides that he would admit to a selfish impulse to keep this a secret for a few days. Not that he thought anyone would mind, or even be shocked by the news, but he wanted to keep her to himself. He had gotten spoiled in the last month. He was used to having her all to himself all the time.

He'd need to get used to sharing her again. His girl had other friends and her family to be with some of the time. Not that he didn't have that too but she was more social than he was. He knew she spent hours at a time with Glitch and Raw while he preferred his own company or hers most of the time. That's one of the reasons he liked his workshop as much as he did. He could be alone and satisfy his creative needs at the same time. Thinking of his workshop had his mind whirling in a more pleasant direction than longcoats and resistance cells. Now that they were back he could make her something nicer than a bead necklace. He began to work out what to make her as they finished lunch.

By the time he set his napkin down he knew what he wanted to make her. Satisfied with the idea he promised to refine it once he got some paper to sketch on. It was going to take him some time to make her what he wanted. He enjoyed the rest of their meal as they chatted amicably and relaxed. He could see that his children had been under stress at his sudden disappearance, after the instability of their younger years it didn't surprise him, but they were easily falling back to where they had been before he had been injured. Needless to say he was annoyed when a steward interrupted their meal and told them the queen and consort had ordered a meeting in the west tower in ten minutes. He had been having a pleasant time.

Author Note: A huggle to anyone that leaves me a review.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The original idea for Tin Man is awesome! It is also not mine.

Damn it. She stood next to the window with her arms crossed. This wasn't how she wanted to spend their first day home. All she wanted to do was crawl back in bed with the tin man for the next few years. Instead she was waiting next to her sister, their visit cut short, to hear what the viewers had learned. Judging by the way they were shifting around it wasn't great news. She suppressed the childish urge to either kick the wall or throw a tantrum. She was so tired of fighting all the time.

She had been dealing with evil of some kind or another since she had been dropped here by the travel storm. First it had been the witch, then the most loyal of her high ranking officers, the mobats that had somehow escaped everyone and they still hadn't found, a duke from a nearby country that got uppity, and now they were back to the longcoats. She suddenly felt beyond tired. She wanted this to be over already. She wanted all of them to be able to live in peace.

As her thoughts drifted darkly the tin man walked up behind her without her noticing. She felt his fingers on her shoulder and jumped. She looked over to find him giving her a reassuring smile and relaxed. Az glanced over and nodded to the tin man before returning her attention to the viewers. When her sister was distracted Wyatt tugged her back a few inches until their sides were brushing. Feeling better she leaned into him and he stroked her back discretely. This was better even if they weren't back in bed together. She'd been feeling oddly lonesome since they separated two hours ago. She realized she was acting like a clingy sixteen year old with her first boyfriend but didn't care. She wanted to be with him.

Behind them the doors closed and Jeb and Laura sat at the large table that dominated the room. Her parents and Glitch were already seated along with six of the eight viewers. Next to them Az sighed and moved to one of the free chairs. She decided she would rather stand and the tin man wasn't making any indication that he wanted to sit either. His thumb continued to run over her, hidden by how they were standing, but she felt someone watching them. Her eyes found Raw's warm ones a moment later and he tilted his head to the side. She felt herself blushing slightly and leaned a little closer to Cain.

The tin man glanced down at her and followed her line of sight. When he spotted Raw he raised an eyebrow and grumbled quietly. She could swear she heard him mutter something along the lines of 'his girl' before her mother started the meeting. "What did you find, Master Raw?"

The viewer turned his attention to the queen and sighed. "Raw not find anything." He reached out and touched his nephews shoulder. "But Kalm find much."

The other viewers in the room nodded in agreement. It was their way to acknowledge the truth of things. Kalm's gift of sight was well known in their community. Even at the age of thirteen he was considered one of the most powerful seer's in the realm. Raw on the other hand was a gifted healer. His sight simply wasn't on the same level as his young nephew. Not that he was bothered by that. She knew he had spent endless hours training Kalm to use his gift. The boy had been having nightmares for weeks after the witch died. His time in prison and the loss of Lylo, the only family he could remember, had affected the boy badly. He was as sweet and shy as Raw but much younger. He had no idea how to get his emotions under control and his gift had spiraled out of his tentative control.

Raw had been close to panic when his nephew stopped eating all together and she had done her best to help them when her friend had sought her out. Two days later and Kalm still wasn't eating. She didn't know what else to try. Cain had found her in her room pacing in front of the window at two in the morning as she tried to work out what to do. When he asked her what was the matter she had told him distractedly. He told her to sleep and she had reluctantly gone to bed.

The next day she had gotten up early and headed toward Kalm's room. She walked in to find the young viewer eating a bowl of oatmeal and the tin man leaning against the windowsill watching him silently. Raw was sitting on a couch across from the boy and purring happily at his nephew. When the tin man caught sight of her he had patted the eleven year old on the head and gone to her. He ushered her into the hall and shut the door behind him. She had stared at the closed door for a few seconds before hurling herself at him.

The tin man was still getting used to her hugs, or any physical contact from anyone, and had grunted at the assault. She ignored his stiff body and squeezed him tightly. "Thank you!"

He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "No problem, Kid."

She let him go with a smile. He had blinked down at her as if he was trying to work her out. "What did you do?"

"He was scared. Kids are a bit like animals. They don't act right when they're upset. I settled him down and then he ate." He shrugged. "You and Raw were actin' anxious around him. He's a viewer. He felt it. Made the whole thing worse. Now that he's eatin' Raw isn't scared and neither is he. He'll be fine."

She decided at that moment that he was amazing in every way. So she had hugged him again and he sighed letting her do what she wanted. He must have decided it wasn't worth the effort of trying to get her to stop. He had operated under that principal since that day. Unless her life was in danger he simply let her act the way she acted. Usually with a grudging smile tugging at his lips or a roll of his eyes. They did have fun together.

But right now wasn't about fun. She listened as Raw told them what was going on. "Longcoats formed groups. Not as many as princess and tin man thought." She felt Cain relax slightly next to her. "Have spread out along edge of O.Z. Happened to stumble on them because found hiding places." Raw made an arc with his finger. "Along southwestern border."

Well, how lucky that they had ended up in both the south and the west. She sighed and the tin man shook his head ruefully. She would love to know how they always ended up in dangerous or stupid situations while specifically trying to avoid them. "How many are there?" Glitch tapped his fingers over the table as he asked.

"Few hundred. Spread thin. Hiding well."

"Can you tell us which towns they're in?" Ahamo pointed to a map of the kingdom spread out on one side of the table.

"Can." Kalm moved forward and Ahamo handed him a small black pouch. The teenager took it and picked out a colored pebble. He set it on top of the map confidently before reaching for another stone. He continued to place markers for several minutes before he stopped. He looked over his work and spoke softly. "This is all." He tapped one of the larger towns. "More are here. Twenty-two. Feel power. See leader."

"Do you know who the leader is?" Jeb was focused on the information.

Kalm shrugged. "Not know but not strong. Only clever. Good at hiding. This is all Kalm can see."

Jeb nodded. "This is very good, Kalm. Thank you."

"Welcome." He melted back behind his uncle.

Raw patted his back and continued. "Raw not soldier but thinks safe to take time and make plan. Longcoats been in place for many months. Men have no reason to leave towns. Feel safe and content." The other viewers in the room nodded.

Beside her the tin man spoke. "I agree. No one outside this room knows about this. We have the element of surprise. We can get the army out there quietly and capture them all at once. It'll have to be organized though. One strike. Fast and hard."

There were murmurs of agreement all around. She spoke up for the first time. "You'll need me to go then." The hand on her back stopped its gentle caress as heads turned. "I can use my magic to make sure everyone is in place and signal the guard."

Az shook her head. "No, it should be me."

"You're the heir apparent. You can't go running off to fight. It's too dangerous."

"But-"

She looked into her sister's eyes and set her shoulders. "We've talked about this before. There's a reason I'm the one that goes to meetings around the realm and you don't. The country is too unstable for you to die. The people need a secure monarchy. You make it secure."

Her sister was clearly frustrated but didn't continue to argue with her. "Fine."

Jeb broke in addressing her parents who were clearly as pleased as Az over her insistence of leaving again. "With your permission I'll take what we've learned and go meet with the other generals. We'll have a solid plan in a day or two."

Ahamo nodded and stood motioning to Glitch. "We'll go with you. You'll need the information we have on what types of supplies and transports we have."

Jeb, Laura, Glitch and the consort left without further comment. Her mother thanked the other viewers that had come to help and Raw and Kalm escorted them out. Her mother and sister followed behind them and she and the tin man were left alone as the door shut quietly behind everyone. She sighed and looked over at the map. It could be worse she supposed.

"Are you insane?"

She turned her attention to the tin man. She could tell he was torn between anger and exasperation. "Huh?"

Spinning her around so they were facing one another he shook her slightly. "Deeg, we just got back from a trip that nearly killed us and you volunteer us for something else that's likely to end up with both of us lyin' dead in the road?"

She bit her lip then decided to go ahead and start this fight. "I didn't volunteer us. I volunteered me."

"I go where you go."

God damn it. She caught his hands knowing this was going to be unpleasant. "About that." He frowned at her tone and she forged on. "Wyatt, you can't be my bodyguard anymore."

"What?" His hands jerked away from her and his eyes flashed angrily.

"I'm sorry. I can't go through another month like that again." She caught one of his hands in an attempt to maintain contact while she explained herself. "I thought you were going to die and it would have been my fault." Her shoulders slumped. "Please don't be angry about this. I just can't deal with you being hurt like that again."

He pulled her against him. "I told you what happened wasn't your fault." His anger had melted away as quickly as it had risen up. "You aren't the one that shot me."

"No, but you got shot because of me."

He caught her around the waist and picked her up. Her arms went around his neck and he set her on the edge of the table. She leaned back and he cupped her cheek. "Is this an issue because of what we did this mornin'?"

"No." She felt herself blush at the memory as she caught his hand. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this since I was burning your leg closed but you were hurt and I didn't want to get in a fight with you when you were already frustrated about being stuck." She gripped his hand. "We're too close, Wyatt. Even before. I was freaking out with you bleeding all over the place. Please don't ask me to keep putting you in situations like that. If you died I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"It bothered you that much?" His thumb brushed over her temple.

She looked at him and stated the situation in a way that he would understand. "How would you have felt if I had been the one shot?"

He nodded in acceptance before leaning in to kiss her. "Ok, Darlin', but I'll be the one to pick your new bodyguard. Non-negotiable."

"Really?" Sold. She wasn't sure she had ever been this relieved before. "Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. He held her against him as she peppered his face with kisses.

"Slow down, Deeg." He tugged her off the table. "We can't do this here. Anyone could walk in."

She let him take her hand and lead her out to the hall. By the time they got to his rooms it was taking all her willpower not to jump him. When he finally shut and locked the door to the hallway she gave into the impulse. He grunted in surprise as her arms wrapped around him and then he was picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the bedroom. She kissed his jaw and he growled as she started ripping at his vest buttons.

Reaching the bed he sat down and they landed with a soft thump. She smiled into his mouth and he reached for the bottom of her shirt. She raised her arms so he could get rid of it and he ripped it over her head. His eyes zeroed in on her lacy rose bra and she let him take his time looking at her. He was going to be so happy when he saw her matching panties. "Aren't you the tease?"

She smiled provocatively. "Hardly." She slid off his lap and put his hands on her hips. She was more than willing to let him undress her. Wyatt watched her face as his hands slid around to the fastening on her pants. His fingers hooked under the top of her trousers and brushed her skin. She shivered at the touch and he leaned forward to press his lips against her abdomen as he unhooked the buttons. She ran her hands over his blond hair and sighed as he shimmied the pants off her hips. She stepped out of her shoes and watched him look her over. His hands ran up her ribs.

"You are a beauty aren't you?" She blushed because she had no idea what to say to that. He tugged her between his legs, apparently he liked to have her there, and kissed the skin between her breasts. Her breathing shallowed at the passion in his eyes and her hands fell to his shoulders. Holding her against him he raised his head and kissed the base of her neck. He asked her a soft question as he teased her skin. "Are you sore?"

Her hands tightened over his shirt. "Only a little."

He traced her spine with his fingertips. "Will you be alright if I'm easy?"

"I'll be fine as long as you don't stop." He continued to kiss her neck and she started to unbutton his shirt. The tin man shrugged out of his clothes the second she had them loose and reached around behind her. His hands searched the back of her bra and he grumbled as he fumbled with it. She laughed at him and kissed his forehead. "There is no way that it's more complicated than a corset."

"I know how those work." Holding her with one hand he spun her around. "This is new." He worked out the simple clasp as soon as he looked at it and snapped it open. "Ah." Turning her around again he slipped the material off her and his eyes sparked approvingly. "As pretty as the lace is I like you without it better." His hands ran over her newly exposed skin. "You're all ivory and rose petals."

She pressed into his touch. He really didn't need to compliment her. He already had her. Completely. Reaching for him she ran her hands over his chest and his hands slid down to her hips. Hooking his thumbs under her panties he peeled them off her in a go. Wanting to get closer she slid back onto his lap as she kissed him. Below her he toed off his boots and socks. He ran his hand over her hair and she started to grind her hips.

He groaned and she felt him harden against her thigh. Incredibly pleased by his fast reaction she reached between them and started to unbutton his trousers. She felt a streak of naughtiness hit her and didn't fight it. Her hand darted into his pants the second they were loose enough and she grabbed him firmly. He choked on a gasp and his hands tightened on her ribs. "Ozma, Kid." Smiling seductively she started to rub him. She had barely settled on a rhythm when he caught her wrist and twisted her off him and onto the bed. "Enough."

His low rumble turned her on and she watched him take off his pants impatiently. He got onto the bed beside her and sat back on his knees. When she started to sit up he grabbed her ankles and pulled her across the blankets to him. Kissing her he teased her with his roughened hand and she moaned. He was so good at that. She was wet faster than she thought possible.

"Stop teasing me." She arched her back and spread her legs in invitation. "I need you in me."

"Yes." Hooking one of her knees under his arm he laid down over her thrust inside. She cried out as she tightened around him. He sighed into her hair and started to move with leisurely rolls of his hips. With a soft whimper she stretched her neck up to catch his lips. He returned the kiss eagerly as they rocked together. "How's this feel, Darlin'?"

"Amazing." She ran her hands down his arms. "So full, Wyatt."

He hummed at her answer as her mind clouded over with pleasure. "You are so wet, Deeg." He kissed her again and speed up. "And so tight." She clenched her inner muscles and he grunted. Her breathless laughter turned into a helpless moan when she shifted and bumped his hips against her clit. He grinned and whispered into her ear. "Don't start something you can't finish."

"When have I ever not finished something?" She squeezed him again when he was fully inside of her. His breathing started to get ragged. "I fully intend to finish you right now."

"Fuck, Kid." His curse made her moan again. He never did that. He never swore like that. She was a little proud of herself for making him loose control of his thought process. His hand snaked down between them and started rubbing her again and she bucked. Working her gently he brought her up to her breaking point a little at a time. Finally it was too much.

"Wyatt!" She came in a rush and he followed her soon after. Groaning he locked their hips together and shuddered. Clutching at his sides she came down from her high slowly. Running her hand up over his neck she massaged the long muscles there with sure fingers. He sighed and kissed the top of her head as she worked. Hoping he wouldn't move if she kept this up she wrapped her now free legs around his waist. He slid his arms under her and relaxed into her touch.

After a minute he shifted his hips and slid out of her. She let out a regretful sigh and he kissed her temple again. "I'm only human, Darlin'. I'm goin' to need a few minutes."

She laughed softly and kissed him. "Believe it or not I enjoy cuddling."

"Never would have guessed that with the way you jump on me."

"Aww!" She kissed his jaw. "You like when I hug you big fibber."

"No." She could see his eyes twinkle even as he denied it. With a soft sound she threw her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him to prove him wrong. He huffed out a laugh. "Alright! Let go of me!"

"Why should I?"

"So I can cuddle you properly."

That sounded nice. Her arms loosened and he shook his head. Rolling to his side he pulled her against him and started running his hands though her hair. She smiled up at him and he kissed her nose as he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around them. "You're kinda awesome you know that?"

He laughed and kissed her affectionately. "I'm glad you think so." She grinned and pulled his face to hers. Cradling her he sighed into her mouth. "We aren't goin' to get out of here to eat dinner are we?"

"Don't be silly. When have I skipped a meal?" Laughing he tickled her ribs and she batted at him.

"In that case-" He kissed her before continuing. "-let's order in."

Author Note: I'm feeling uncreative with my author notes recently. Shame really.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I feel as if I've been here before…

It was getting late. The suns had set awhile back and the two of them had been in a meeting for the last ten hours. At least they had been served dinner while they were making plans. The generals and consort had decided, after six solid days of discussion, to wait a few weeks to launch their attack. According to the viewers, and Azkadilla who had an odd affinity with the weather, there would be a series of snowstorms in the following days. The first flakes had started falling over the city fifteen minutes before they had called it quits. He was insanely glad he and Deeg had gotten home when they had. They had missed the worst blizzard of the year by less than a week. He didn't want to think about being caught outside in that with his girl.

After the meeting the two of them had retreated to his room and he had laid out a few blankets and pillows in front of his fireplace. He thought after the day they had they deserved some time alone. His head was buzzing from the amount of information they had gone over and his girl was wound as tight as a harp wire. Despite her insistence of getting a new bodyguard, which he understood but was still highly anxious about, she was unhappy about them being separated during the attack. He wasn't all that pleased about it either to put it mildly. He was sure he would be worried about her the entire time they were apart. This was going to be a trial for both of them. He decided not to think about it until they were leaving. It would only unsettle both of them.

Kicking off his boots and setting his holster on a table he lit the fire as Deeg stretched out on the blankets and chucked her own shoes under his couch. Once the logs caught on fire he laid down next to her and threw his arm over her waist. His girl twisted under his arm until they were pressed against each other. He kissed her temple and she sighed tiredly. "Long meeting."

"At least it's over."

"Yeah." She rolled over under his arm and kissed him softly. "This is nice."

He stroked her hair affectionately. He couldn't describe how much he was enjoying the new phase of their relationship. He had thought they would calm down after their first day or two rolling around together but that didn't appear to be the case. It seemed that now that he had her he wanted her more than ever. He couldn't get enough of her. He had gotten addicted to her unbelievably fast. Twice during the meetings they had snuck out during breaks to fly at one another.

The first time he blamed the kid. She had started to stroke his thigh under the table an hour before they were set to have lunch. He was hard as a rock inside thirty seconds. He had barely been able to focus on the questions that had been thrown his way. Deeg had kept him on the brink for longer than he had thought possible. The second she pushed him to the point of release she would stop long enough for him to calm down before she started to rub him again. He hadn't been wrong about her being a tease. When everyone had separated to stretch and eat he had grabbed her as discretely as possible and locked them in her room as fast as he could. The second they were inside he had dragged her toward the nearest piece of furniture. They had torn each other's clothes off in a flurry of fabric before toppling into the armchair. They had ended up gasping in pleasure in less than five minutes. The second time, well, that had been his fault. He would admit that. Not that it mattered. The end result had been the same except they had ended up in a side staircase instead of her room. He was still amazed no one had stumbled over them while he had her against the wall, not that he had thought about that until they were putting their clothes to rights.

It seemed as if all they could do was take the edge off for a few hours at a time before one or the other lost control. It helped that they were spending their nights in his room. They could spend a few hours making love and talking before falling asleep. Then they could spend a few minutes in the morning tangled up together.

His girl was as sweet and giving in bed as she was outside of it. She put her whole being into their lovemaking and he felt like the luckiest man in the world. He wasn't entirely sure how they had made it through the entire meeting today without running off again. He had sure been tempted more than once but the planning had gotten serious fast. He had more experience with troop movements than two of the generals and had been trying to help them work out the safest strategy possible. He couldn't do that with distractions and his girl knew it. She had left him alone while they finalized the plan and she fell into discussion with Azkadilla about the best way to use her magic.

Tangling his fingers in her curls he kissed her deeply and she moaned quietly. Tugging her had her hooking her leg over his waist and he turned, dragging her on top of him. His girl deepened the kiss and he let go of her hair in favor of running his hands over her body. She pressed into him and started to rub her body against his. He groaned into her mouth and held her hips tightly. He ground her pelvis into his and she ran her hand through his short hair before kissing her way along his jaw.

"Want you inside me, Tin Man."

With a groan of agreement he sat them up and started to undress her. Her nimble fingers made short work of his buttons and then he rolled her onto her back and peeled off her trousers and panties in a go. She reached for him and he flattened his palm over her stomach to hold her down. He thought his girl had escaped one particular activity long enough. He had sure waited long enough to show her how good he was at this.

Bending down he kissed the skin below his hand and her eyes widened slightly. She started to fidget almost immediately and he turned his head and nipped at her ribs. "Wyatt?"

His girl was nervous and he stroked her stomach soothingly. "Be still, Darlin'." He placed a series of kissed down her side and to her hipbone. "I promise you'll enjoy this."

"But-"

He cut her off knowing the only way to win this was to get ahead of her. Looking up at her he made himself comfortable over the blankets. He was going to do this even if it took Deeg a minute to figure that out. "I hardly think it's fair that you get to do this to me and I don't get to return the favor." She had already made him come in her mouth twice. The first time he realized what she was about to do he had nearly lost it before she even touched him.

He saw exasperation flash over her face for a brief moment before her unease returned. "That was so low, Tin Man."

He grinned and kissed her inner thigh. He knew her sense of fair play would be her undoing at some point. She began to quake slightly and he nuzzled the silky skin he had found. "Relax, Deeg. Seen every bit of you now. No point in goin' shy at this point." He smoothed his hand farther up her body so she was forced to lay flat. Once she was down he used his other hand to hook one of her legs over his shoulder.

Her breathing was irregular and he acted before she could work herself up any more. He wanted her to see stars not have a panic attack. Pressing his lips against her clit he suck her before rolling the small bundle of nerves under his tongue. His girl let out a startled cry and her hips jerked up. Pressing down on her stomach he held her still as he continued to taste her. The girl started getting wet under his tongue in a few seconds.

As he worked her up she tangled her fingers in the blanket below her and panted between moans. His eyes went up to look at her and he suppressed a smug smile. Her head was thrown back and her whole body was covered in a rosy flush. Turned on by the sight of her he bent his head farther and licked his way from the bottom of her opening to the top. She let out a strangled wail he had never heard her produce before. Feeling wicked he did it again and Deeg nearly came off the blankets. "Wyatt!"

"Did you need somethin'?" He asked easily between licks.

His girl's eyes flashed down to his as her head fell to the side to look at him. "Are you serious?" He swirled his tongue around her clit and she gasped. "You're killing me!"

He chuckled sending vibrations straight into her most sensitive area. "No, I'm makin' you come with my tongue." He started to tickle her folds. "You taste wonderful."

Between his words and touch she came with a long, low keen of completion. Even with the hold he had on her it took most of his strength to keep her from jerking out of his grasp as he continued to suckle her. He had no intention of letting her come down quickly. He dragged out her pleasure until she couldn't draw in breath to cry out with. When she began to sob silently he left her alone. Kissing his way up her body he let her try to get hold of herself.

The girl was quaking like mad and he propped himself over her and kissed her neck with a hum of satisfaction. He was proud of himself for making her come so hard. When he raised his head to kiss her lips he reached down and spread her legs open again. He ground his pant covered hips over hers and she cried out again. She was extremely sensitive after that and he intended to take advantage of it. Unfastening his pants quickly he pulled himself out and plunged into her. Deeg came immediately. Bucking under him she screamed.

He clenched his teeth to stop himself from loosing it and let her finish before he kissed her and pulled out of her. Standing he got rid of the remainder of his clothes and got on his knees next to her. Leaning down he lifted her up and spun her around before her fog addled mind could work out what was happening. Dragging her backward he opened her legs so they were spread on either side of his and held her against his chest. He rubbed himself against her bottom and she whimpered. Reaching behind her she grasped at his hips as she raised herself up on her knees. Pleased with her compliance he held her hip with one hand and positioned himself with the other.

Deeg stayed still as he thrust into her and her fingers tightened over him as he started to move. Once he found a tempo he started teasing her breasts and belly. Deeg pressed into him and he kissed her neck as he quickened his pace. He wasn't sure how much longer he could wait after watching her orgasm twice and was starting to grunt with the effort of keeping focused. His girl must have recognized the signs of his impending release because one of her hands left him to slip between her own legs. His eyes zeroed in on what she was doing to herself and he spoke directly into her ear. He couldn't take this. "Come. Right now." He punctuated the command with a hard jerk of his hips and she lost it.

Unable to stop himself he let go and a wave of white hot pleasure shot through him as he released inside of her. Pressing her against him with an open palm he shoved his hips as tightly against hers as he could. She clenched around him when he bottomed out and they swayed together before she slumped into him. Before he toppled over he fell out of her and dragged her to the blankets with him.

They lay tangled together gasping as the heat of the fire warmed them. He rubbed her with leisurely caresses as he watched the firelight flicker over her pale skin. Her dark curls tickled his nose and he tucked them behind her ear as he ran his eyes over her. Her skin was flushed from their activities and a sheen of sweat made her practically glow in the orange light. He saw her inner thighs gleaming wetly and a spike of male satisfaction settled over him. If he had any energy left he would be in her again already. Even now, spent and exhausted, he knew he'd have to have her at least one more time before they went to bed for the night.

When she spoke her voice was thick with amusement. "Are you enjoying this view or would you like me to change positions?"

He let his voice drop and kissed the back of her shoulder. "I'll be puttin' you in a different position when I see fit."

She snorted at him and he grinned as she stretched out along his body like a contented cat. "It's cute the way you think you can intimidate me."

He smiled. "Never could scare you into line."

She patted his hand. "You did your best. Can't hold it against you when you tried so hard."

Chuckling he reached up and tickled her cheek. She turned her face into his hand and he increased the contact. "You're a sweet thing, Darlin'."

Turning over she laid her head on his shoulder. "You're pretty sugary yourself."

Rolling his eyes he watched her as she leaned over him and caught one of the blankets. Laying down she pulled it over them and found his shoulder again. She liked using him more than a pillow. He curled his arm and brushed the back of her head with his fingertips. He liked this part nearly as much as making her scream. After his time in the suit he found physical contact to be much more important to him than he ever had before. He kissed her gently before laying his forehead against hers. His eyes sparkled and he nudged her nose with his. "Did you enjoy that?"

He saw her eyes glitter. "If I say yes are you going to do it again?"

"Only if you ask nicely."

"Is that how it is?"

He caught her hip with his free hand and dragged her against him. "It is."

"I see." The girl called his bluff and started to get up. "In that case I'll just be going until you decide to tell me how much you want me to do something." He saw the challenge in her eyes as she reached for her panties. "Nicely of course."

Catching her as she sat up he rolled her under him with a huff of amusement as the blanket tangled around them. The kid was fun to play with. "I want you like you can't believe, Deeg." He kissed her nose. "But you already know that." He kissed his way toward her ear as he growled to her. "Couldn't help but tell you that last night when you were between my legs whimperin' for me not to stop."

Deeg started stroking his arms. He had found out she liked it when he breathed dirty little secrets into her ear. Got her wet fast. Had his mind whirling to be perfectly honest. Incidentally that was a contributing factor to their tryst in the staircase. He had to know how well it worked and it seemed like the best way to test his theory on her reaction. And what a reaction it had been. He was going to be returning to that particular memory more often than he was willing to admit to.

"As I recall you told me a few other things prior to that." He tried to fight the blood rushing to his face. He may have asked her once or twice not to stop what she had been doing. He wanted to emphasize that he had _asked_. There had definitely been no begging involved. Deeg ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back. Her legs were coming up to get him snug over her. Her hands traveled lower and squeezed his ass. He grunted in surprise and she smirked.

"Gettin' bold, Deeg."

"Lucky you." He laughed softly and started kissing her. Deeg stretched her neck so he had easier access and he took his time running his lips down her skin at her silent request. It was going to take him a few more minutes to catch up with her. He kept his touches easy to keep her on a low burn while he rebounded. Deeg sighed happily and slid her hand up over his back. Her fingers ran through his hair sending small tingles across his scalp.

"That's nice." He bumped his nose under her chin. Her head tilted for a moment and then she started scratching his scalp lightly. He hummed involuntarily and pressed up into her fingers. Deeg let out a breathy laugh as he buried his head in her shoulder. He murmured complements against her skin and she turned her head and brushed her lips over his forehead as she continued.

"Do you have fleas?"

"No, but you can do this anytime you want."

His girl smiled and kept going until his hair was sticking up in every direction. When she was done she rubbed his neck soothingly. "I like this look for you. Very unkempt. Unshaved and your hair is getting long again."

"Long?"

"It's probably a whole three inches now." He heard the humor in her voice. "What am I going to do with you? I won't even be able to take you out in public like this."

"I'll have to keep you locked in here with me forever then."

"Promise?"

He kissed her deeply and her legs tightened over his hips. "We can certainly try." He nibbled at her bottom lip before asking her a question. "Are you ready for me again?"

His girl reached down and caught his hips, pulling him closer as she spread her legs. "I'm starting to think I'm always going to be ready for you." He kissed her hard as he settled more comfortably between her legs. Tangling his hand in her dark curls he flattened himself over her as he deepened the kiss. His girl had just wrapped her legs around his waist when there was a hurried knock on the door and the handle turned.

"Dad, I have a question-" He tore his mouth from hers in time to look up and see his son walk through the unlocked door with a pile of papers under his arm. How in Ozma's name had they forgotten to lock the door? Jeb froze with one foot through the threshold and his eyes flew over them. He withdrew as quickly as he entered, slamming the door after him. He heard a strangled apology from behind the wood and then rapidly retreating footsteps.

Author Note: Okay, this would have been up faster but exciting things are happening. I met with a publisher this morning… So exciting!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Not mine. To be clear I'll say it again. Not Mine.

The echoing bang of the door bounced around the living room and she froze under the tin man. Her mouth worked silently for a moment before a horrified whisper fell from her lips. "Oh my god." She threw her hand over her face as she blushed in embarrassment. "That didn't just happen." Her legs fell from around his waist. "Tell me that didn't happen."

The tin man was still staring at the door silently as he tried to process his son walking in on them. Then his head fell to her shoulder and he cursed. He shoved the blanket that was clinging so precariously to them away, not that it had covered much, and reached for his pants. She watched him jumping into his clothes and snatched the crumpled blanket off the floor and wrapped it around herself. She had never been this embarrassed in her entire life and she had put herself in more than one mortifying situation.

Wyatt's quick movements weren't helping her calm down either. By the time he had one arm in his vest sleeve she was glowing with anxiety. Her magic was flashing erratically and she curled up in front of the couch. The tin man caught sight of her as he grabbed his holster and crouched down in front of her. He ran his hand over the side of her face apologetically. "Darlin', I'm so sorry." He kissed her quickly. "I need to take care of this."

"Yeah." She wished she had never agreed to keep this a secret. This was horrible. At least she wasn't the one that had to talk to Jeb.

"You're shinnin'." He stroked her hair. "Don't get yourself this upset. It's alright."

All right? Jeb had just seen them tangled up naked! It wasn't like he could misinterpret that! She was utterly flustered. She had been nervous about the _tin man_ seeing her naked! She had never wanted his son to find them having sex on his rug. She opened her mouth to tell him this was in no way all right when she saw his eyes. He was as embarrassed as she was. Closing her mouth with a snap she nodded in agreement. There was no reason to make this worse than it was for him. At least she had the option of hiding in here for a couple of days. "Ok."

She saw the slightest amount of relief in his eyes and he kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon. Why don't you take a nice hot bath while I'm gone?"

She was sure he was giving her suggestions to make himself feel better. With another nod she kissed his cheek. "I'll be here when you're done."

"Thank you, Darlin'." Then she knew that he knew that she was downplaying this for his sake. Without further discussion he stood up and shut the door firmly behind him. She was left sitting in front of the fire with the blanket clutched protectively against her chest and looking at the mess they had made. With a sigh she stood and gathered everything up. She needed something to do to occupy her time.

Tossing the blankets and pillows on the bed she tossed her clothes on the edge and dove into the tin man's dresser. Tugging out one of his shirts she put it on and turned back to the mess. It was too cold to do anything without clothes. Almost anything, she corrected herself. Folding her clothes she set them on top the dresser she had abandoned before making the bed. Done with that she sighed and shifted uncomfortably.

At a loss she went into the bathroom and started the faucets on the tub. While it was filling she opened one of the cabinets under the sink she had claimed for herself, which she was nearly certain had made the tin man smile, and pulled out a bottle she had been hiding away for nearly six months. Az had given it to her for her birthday but she had never seen much use for it. Now she wanted a distraction and bubbles made her happy. Opening the top she gave it an experimental sniff and decided melon scented bubbles would have to do.

Pouring a pretty liberal amount in the water she watched the top of the water explode with foam and smiled for the first time in nearly twenty minutes. Putting the bottle away she dug out one of her hair ties and put her hair into a messy bun. Tossing the shirt she had stolen on the counter she turned back to the water. Stepping into the rapidly filling tub she let it finish filling and turned the water off. Stretching out she did her best to relax which was a lot easier when she could make the bubbles dance and bounce around with her magic.

She was making tiny bubble tornados fly across the surface of the water when the door opened. Twisting her head around she saw Cain walk in. "Hey."

"Bubbles?" He walked to the counter and started unbuckling his holster.

"They smell nice." She eyed him critically. His feathers were ruffled, she could tell. "Are you ok?"

"That was uncomfortable." He set his gun on the counter with a thunk and she knew he was understating what he was feeling.

She had no idea what to say so she did something to make him smile. Twirling her finger she concentrated and made a slightly larger bubble storm. Telling it to move it spun off the top of the water and whirled around the tin man before loosing its shape and drifting toward the ceiling as individual bubbles. He huffed out a laugh at her silliness and she smiled. "Come sit with me?"

"Are you goin' to send the bubbles after me if I don't?"

"Only if you don't comply with my demands immediately." She punctuated this by making a fat, miniature bubble lion. It roared silently and three bubbles erupted from its mouth before popping. Wyatt let out a bark of laughter and started to undress.

"Didn't know you could do that with your light."

"Me neither." She poked the suds. "But it's fun."

Once he was naked he stepped into the water after her and she sat forward so he could settle himself behind her. When he was comfortable she used him as a backrest and looked up at him while she grabbed his hand. "Do you want to talk about this or not?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Let's just say Jeb knows and leave it at that."

She kissed the underside of his jaw. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I don't know how I forgot to lock the door. That won't happen again." He sighed and tickled her ribs under the water. "Are you alright?"

"Other than being utterly mortified? I'm fine."

He sighed and leaned down to nuzzle the side of her face. "With the way we've been actin' it's a wonder no one caught us before that."

She grumbled. "The staircase thing was not my idea." Not that it hadn't been amazing. Just thinking about it was pushing her embarrassment away. It hadn't just felt good; she had felt more wanted than she ever had before. Having the constantly in control tin man shoving her into a dark corner because he couldn't wait another second to touch her had been such a turn on she had lost it the second he had pushed inside her. He'd had to slam his lips over hers to stop any sound from escaping her.

He rumbled and nipped at the side of her neck. "You liked that."

"Yes." She tilted her head so he had better access to her skin.

"You liked the thrill." He was teasing her neck mercilessly.

Her arm went up and she wrapped it around his neck. "That's not why."

She didn't need to see his face to know one of his eyebrows had come up. His hands skimmed down her body. "Tell me why."

She smiled feeling sexy all over again. "You couldn't wait. Not even long enough to take me to your room."

He growled into her skin and flattened her against his chest. "You liked that I lost control?"

"So much."

"Rotten." She laughed breathily at his admonishment and he did something utterly unexpected. He latched his lips around the top of her shoulder and sucked hard. She let out a quiet yip as he held her still. Releasing her a moment later he kissed the spot with a satisfied hum.

She twisted her neck to see what he had done and huffed. She would have been much more annoyed if he had put it in a place she couldn't hide. As it was anything she owned would cover the mark. "I can't believe you just gave me a hickey."

"A what?" He laughed out.

"Hickey."

"We call them love bites."

"Regardless, I am now bruised. Are you pleased?"

"Very." He started to run his hands over her firmly. "You're my girl."

He had bitten her so she would know that. She found herself less than annoyed. All she felt was an odd combination of pleasure that he marked her as his, and surprise that she liked that he had. She squirmed against him and he caught her hips and held her still. She didn't want to be still and tried to rub herself against him. "Wyatt."

He tightened his hold on her. When he spoke his voice was low and possessive.

"Are you mine?"

There was no point in pretending. "Yes."

One of his hands settled between her legs and flicked her softly at her answer. She sucked in a breath and tried to press into his fingers but he was using his other hand to hold her still. "Not until I say."

An unexpected jolt of heat hit her at the command. This was a side of him she hadn't seen before. The tin man had been nothing but sweet to her when they were making love before. He had never been demanding in the slightest. Now he was telling her very clearly that he was the one deciding what was about to happen. Maybe his loss of control when his son interrupted them had him trying to compensate. Or maybe he was trying to get her to focus on what they were doing and nothing else.

"Do you understand, Deeg?" He was asking for permission to continue. She gave it to him.

"I understand." He rubbed her lightly and she mewled.

"Aren't you a good girl?" He kissed her as he touched her with one fingertip. "Are you goin' to behave for me?"

She darted her eyes to the side so she could see him. "For now."

He stopped touching her at that and she whined. "That wasn't a very obedient answer."

"I'm not a very obedient woman." She wasn't entirely sure where this particular game was going but she was having fun with it. Thrills of excitement were running down her spine at his gruff tone.

"Out of the bath."

She decided to test him. "And why should I get out?"

Quick as lightning his hand snapped out of the water and caught her around the neck. Pushing her head back he laid it over his shoulder and held her there as he tipped her chin as far as it would go. Still, he wasn't rough. Her eyes widened and her breathing speed up as she watched him. She was utterly trapped. He had her stretched out along his body with one hand over her jugular and the other arm pressed against her stomach and thighs. She tried to get a grip on his sides under the water as he watched her. "Darlin', the real question is why you're not listenin'."

"Why should I?"

His fingers brushed over her neck. "If you don't you and I are goin' to have a problem."

The air shifted dangerously. She looked at him for a long second. Then she pushed him. She needed to know what he would do. "Then I guess we have a problem."

"Are you sure?" She could tell this was the last time he was going to ask.

"Yes." The tin man could move fast when he wanted to. Before she could blink he had twisted her off him and stood up. Stepping out of the tub he reached for her and she made a ditch attempt to evade him. It didn't do her any good. He caught her and spun her around before tossing her over his shoulder. She gasped as she flew through the air and then he was heading toward the bedroom.

When she tried to squirm out of his grip she was rewarded with a stinging slap to her upper thigh. "Enough."

She was too surprised by his action to do anything but yelp. He went to the corner of the room where a chaise was sitting against the wall. She had never seen him do anything with the piece of furniture except toss his duster over it. Sitting down he slid her down and deposited her in his lap. Holding her face he kissed her deeply and she moaned into his mouth. He broke off and gave her a dark smile. Alarmed, she started to move when he grabbed her sides and flipped her onto her stomach over his legs.

Realizing what he had in mind, it wasn't hard to work out with her over his knee and her ass in the air; she tried to push herself up. His hand flattened over her shoulder blades and shoved her down into the cushions. All the air left her lungs in a rush as his other hand started to sweep over her bottom. "It'll only hurt more if you fight."

Her eyes flashed rebelliously. "Do you really think I'm just going to lay here and let you spank me?"

He chuckled. "In fact I do." He squeezed her left cheek. "You have a fascination with new things. Aren't you curious to know what this is going to be like?" She hadn't thought about that. "Don't you want to know how wet it'll make you? How much it'll heat you up to let me take over?" She stopped struggling as he spoke. "Don't you want to know how it'll feel when I'm inside you after?" When she went totally still he growled and rubbed her neck with the hand he'd had on her shoulders. "I knew you would." Then his hand clamped down on her neck to hold her still.

His hand left her bottom and there was a horrible moment of anticipation where her whole body tensed up before he smacked her with a resounding crack. She let out a shout and tried to jolt forward but the grip he had on her neck kept her where she was. Heat radiated through her body in a wave before his hand came down again. She gasped and squirmed feeling him getting hard below her stomach. "You really weren't being very good, Darlin'." He smacked her. "Pushin' me on purpose." Smack.

Feeling less than contrite, even with her bottom burning, she continued to goad him. "You love when I push you. You don't know how to pass up a challenge."

He hit her again and she gasped. "You don't learn real fast do you?" He continued to spank her. "Or maybe you like this more than you thought you would." He wasn't wrong. She was soaked already. This was amazingly erotic and despite the sting the rest of her body was buzzing oddly. She'd never let anyone take control before and her mind was starting to relax in a way she had rarely experienced. He swatted her as he asked her a question. "Which is it?"

"I'm not the one getting hard." She managed to throw at him. The tin man gave her one more firm smack before dragging her up.

She straddled his lap and his hand went between her legs, rubbing her once. Feeling how wet she was he smirked. "The second one then." Grabbing her hips he lifted her and she spread her legs further. She sank over him and let out a loud cry. It was too much. The sensations overwhelmed her and she came with a shudder. The tin man held her tightly as she came down and she clutched at his arms. As she gasped down from her high he stayed buried in her and kissed her face all over.

Once she was more stable he started to lift her and she did her best to help as her legs quivered under her. Managing to catch up with him she started squeezing him with her inner muscles mercilessly as he thrust into her. He groaned and quickened the pace. Encouraged she rolled her hips as she came down and he cursed. God, she loved it when he did that. Rolling her hips again had him tightening his hold to nearly bruising force.

"Too much for you to handle, Tin Man?" She goaded him breathlessly. He thrust up into her hard and she cried out. "Again." He growled and pumped up into her three more times before she broke apart again. She keened and he let out a loud groan as he let go. Warmth spread out inside of her and she gripped him tightly as she swayed.

Tugging her forward he encouraged her to lean limply against his chest. Wyatt collapsed into the sloping back of the chaise and sucked in air. "Damn, Deeg."

Letting out a breathy laugh she tucked her head into his neck. "That was _so_ good." He hummed in agreement and squeezed her rear as they sat there. She let out an annoyed cry and smacked his arm. "Stop that!"

He chuckled and kissed her. "You sure weren't askin' me to stop a minute ago."

"At least you managed to stop yourself for a few minutes. Just barely."

"Sassy." Twisting he laid her out on the narrow couch and flopped down next to her.

She laughed and hooked one of her legs over his hip. They were getting this piece of furniture soaked. "You love it."

He kissed her tenderly. "I love you."

She went still and blinked at him. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I love you."

She could swear her heart stopped beating for a second. Then she caught his face and kissed him hard. She wasn't sure she had ever been this happy before. He grunted in surprise when she captured him but didn't try to get away from her. "I love you too."

He smiled and hooked his arm around her so he could pull her flush against him. She snuggled up under him and ran her hands from his chest and around his shoulders. Cooing at him happily she traced his body with her hands. He rumbled at her bold touches and found her lips as they lay tangled up together. A few minutes later and he kissed her nose as he sat up. "Come on, Darlin'. Let's get you under the blankets. You're startin' to shiver."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Laying her down on the bed he kissed her again and she let him go long enough to crawl under the quilt. The tin man followed her and spooned her up against him. As he'd done the last week they'd fallen asleep together like this he laid his arm over her middle and caught her hand with his bigger one. Yawning tiredly she moved her head onto his shoulder and felt his lips on the back of her head. "Goodnight, Darlin'."

"Goodnight." He sighed into her curls and went still behind her. Content and warm wrapped up in his arms she closed her eyes and drifted off. It was the first time since they got back that her mind didn't wander to the men hiding on the edge of the kingdom.

Author Note: Leave me one!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Tin Man doesn't belong to me.

He wasn't happy. Crouching down in the snowy underbrush around the town he had been sent to he let his eyes wander over the buildings. Around him the twelve men assigned to his command were still and silent in the shadows, waiting the same as he was. Night was falling and it was only a matter of time before they went in. They were simply waiting for the signal to move. The signal his girl was supposed to let off any time now.

He tried not to think about Deeg. He hadn't seen her in three days and he was starting to get antsy. He didn't know if she was safe. He didn't know if she was healthy. He didn't know if she was warm. He didn't even know if she had made it out to the place she was supposed to be. He didn't care that fifty of the best soldiers in the realm were with her along with one of the generals and her new bodyguard. He didn't even care that he had picked out her new bodyguard and the man was competent in every way. He was high strung and that wasn't how he needed to be right now. He needed to be focused.

Thinking that and being able to accomplish that were two very different things. He missed his family. He had been stopped from being with Jeb for so long that even three days without at least one of them was hard. It didn't help that Jeb and Deeg, who had always had a good relationship, were suddenly and adamantly shying away from each other. Both of them were embarrassed by what had happened and he had a sneaking suspicion that no matter how much Jeb liked his girl he was trying to reconcile him being with someone other than Adora. Not that his son was angry. He was simply thrown out of his comfort zone.

Then, of course, Deeg had picked up on it. Didn't she always pick up on the underlying emotions in a room? Sometimes he thought she was part viewer. Drove him crazy. She had been doing her level best to give Jeb space. While he understood her mindset he wasn't sure avoiding one another was the best way to resolve the issue. They needed to be in the same room for more than ten seconds to get comfortable again. He realized it was awkward, and most of that was his fault, but the way they were acting was setting him on edge. It had been bad enough having to go talk to Jeb in the first place. Thinking about it made him rub his temples briefly.

He had never been that uncomfortable before. When he had left to talk to his son, with Deeg so upset that she was glowing and huddled in a ball, all he'd wanted was to explain himself and then go calm his girl down. Moving quickly, he made his way to his son's rooms in record time. Shaking himself he let out a long sigh and knocked on the door. He heard muffled talking before Laura opened the door with a baffled look.

"Hello." She stepped away to let him in as she shot a glance over her shoulder. "What did you do to Jeb?"

He did his best not to groan as he stepped in. His son was avoiding looking at him at all cost as he shook his head. "Blossom, can I talk to Jeb alone for a few minutes?"

Her green eyes went from him to her flustered husband and she nodded. "Sure, Dad." She headed toward the hallway after giving him a peck on the cheek to reassure him that she was in no way annoyed about getting kicked out of her own suite. "I have a checkup with Raw tonight. I can go now."

"Thank you."

The door shut quietly behind her and his son snapped at him. "What the hell? I did not need to see that!"

"I'm sorry. That was an accident."

"You're sorry? I'm not going to be able to sleep for weeks!" He rubbed his eyes furiously as if he could wipe the image from his mind if he tried hard enough. "How long has-" He waved his hand. "-_that_ been going on?"

"About a month now." He didn't think Jeb wanted an exact date to when he had started sleeping with Deeg.

His son's blue eyes narrowed. "The tepee. I should have known. Trapped with a shot leg and nothing to distract you from her." He opened his mouth but his normally monosyllabic son continued. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "We wanted some privacy while we settled into it."

"If you'd wanted privacy you should have locked the door!"

This wasn't going very well but he couldn't fault Jeb's logic. "Son, I know you're angry-"

"I'm not angry, I'm traumatized!" He made an inarticulate sound in the back of his throat before taking a breath. "I knew this was going to happen I just didn't expect to walk in on it."

"What?"

Jeb shot him a look. "Dad, with the way you two act it's a wonder you made it this long without seeing what you had."

He eyed Jeb for a second. He hadn't realized what their former relationship, the purely platonic one, must have looked like from the outside. They had looked like a couple for quite some time now. After a moment he nodded and turned to the door relieved that Jeb wasn't angry with him or Deeg. "Alright, unless you want to talk about this anymore I'm goin' to leave."

"Dad, I never want to discuss what I just saw for as long as I live."

"You know there's an easy solution to all of this."

"What might that be?"

He smirked at his son. "Next time wait for me to answer the door."

"Out!" He huffed out a laugh as he left, torn between embarrassment and amusement that he had riled his son up so badly. However, he was afraid to stay any longer for fear Jeb would toss him out less than gently. He had spent the rest of the night getting Deeg to forget about the whole thing. That had worked, with pretty spectacular results for both of them, but inevitably the morning had come.

Since then there had been unease brewing in his small family. Jeb must have told Laura what had happened, he was sure the two didn't keep secrets, but his daughter hadn't seemed near as bothered as any of the rest of them. She had made a point of meeting Deeg for lunch a few times. Maybe she could tell what was going on with her gift the way Furball could. For all he knew he and Deeg were probably letting off sparks or something. In any case, Deeg and Jeb had started to make him nervous and that was hard to do. Not much bothered him but thinking his family was about to implode did. He admitted he made a strategic retreat in the hopes that they would deal with the problem themselves.

Going to his forge he had submerged himself in his project during the days while Deeg was with Tutor. At first he thought his girl and Jeb needed more time but as the second week rolled around and nothing had changed he had become annoyed. That hadn't helped anything. He had gotten in an argument with Deeg, the first one they'd had since starting their relationship, and she had nearly started to cry. When she told him she had no idea what she was supposed to do, and if he told her she would go do it, he had felt like an ass. He had hidden and then gone off about her not dealing with a problem he had been a large part in making.

It didn't make him feel any better knowing what he did about her past. He knew Deeg was never sure exactly how she should act around family. She had been thrown about in such uncertainty that she was paranoid. Not that she let it show, or affect her relationships with her parents or sister, but he could tell that sometimes she was sure her new and perfect family situation was going to end pretty badly. With her history it didn't surprise him. She probably thought she would wake up one day and discover the queen and consort were actually giant parrots dressed up to fool her. Or something along those lines.

He had apologized but all that had done was cause her to light up like a lantern. She thought he was still mad at her, which he wasn't, and had started to shift her weight anxiously. Considering hardly anything bothered the kid like this only made him feel worse. He had ended up grabbing her around the middle and whispering reassuringly in her ear. She had repeated her question softly. She sincerely wanted to know what she was supposed to do. Sighing he sat down on the nearest chair and dragged her into his lap. Her legs came up as he held her. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry I don't know how to fix this." Deeg was miserable.

"I don't either. I'm sorry I lost my temper." He caught her hand and twined their fingers together. "We're all leaving and I'm upset. I don't like the idea of leaving you or Jeb and I don't like things being unsettled."

"I know." She had kissed him questioningly and he returned it without hesitation. "I'm sorry, Wyatt."

"It's no one's fault. These things happen." He sighed. This wasn't how he had wanted their last day together to go. "I don't want to fight."

"Me neither." Her light faded away slowly and he relaxed. A few minutes of quiet later and Deeg was curled over him and he felt peace settle between them. Feeling that they were on better footing he tilted her head up and kissed her softly. Her big blue eyes looked at him and he stood up and carried her to the bedroom. He made love to her slowly, savoring the time they had before they left. Deeg came with a soft cry under him and he groaned into her mouth as they plummeted into bliss. Nuzzling her neck affectionately he murmured lovingly to her as she stroked his skin with her warm hands.

"Love you." Her quiet whisper reached his ears in the darkness as he stroked her hair.

"I love you too." Rolling them toward the edge of the bed he reached toward the table as he sat them up. Deeg held onto his shoulders and slid against his chest as he opened the small drawer built into it. Looking over long enough to spot what he had put in it earlier in the day he picked up the small tin necklace. Deeg watched his hand and blinked in surprise when he turned to face her. When she opened her mouth to ask him a question he kissed her quickly. As soon as she got a good look at what he had made her she would know what it was. And what it meant. She always understood what he meant.

Opening the clasp he reached behind her and secured it around her neck. Wrapping his hand around her hair he carefully lifted it out from under the necklace. Stroking her cheek he waited quietly while she wrapped her fingers around the pendent dangling from the chain and held it up to her face. Her eyes softened immediately and she bit her lower lip. In her delicate hand rested a complicated series of cogs that he had painstakingly put together until they formed a battered, but intricate, tin heart.

After a long second of admiring it she looked into his eyes. Brushing her hair behind her ear he smiled warmly at her. "You made my heart work again."

The pendent fell to settle above her chest as she leaned forward and kissed him. Holding her close he rolled her under him again. Deeg caught his face and smiled as she made her own confession. "You gave me a home."

He went still as her eyes told him a story he had never known was in her. Touched beyond words by what she had shared he rested his forehead on hers and stroked her jaw. They had made love again after that. They only left his room long enough to have dinner with everyone before retreating. They hadn't slept much that night, something he couldn't find in himself to regret during his hike the next day no matter how tired he had been. And now here he was, three days later, trying to end this so he could go home to his children and his girl.

As his thoughts circled back to why he was hiding behind a tree the sky lit up. He'd never seen anything like it before. A nearly blinding flash tore across the sky accompanied by a single, clear note of sound. He stood up and the men he had stationed all around the small town moved forward quickly. Rushing toward the most likely hiding place he saw the soldiers with him pressing up against the numerous houses in the square as people started opening their doors to see what had happened outside.

His eyes narrowed in triumph when the house he had chosen produced three men that had seen better days. Rushing forward with four of the soldiers they jumped the three men quickly. He was lucky. The one he caught went down speedily. Throwing him against the door he twisted his arms behind his back and snapped a set of handcuffs around his wrists. The second man was hurled to the ground with equal speed but the third put up a fight. He watched two of the soldiers grapple with him for about thirty seconds before they fell on top of him.

Cursing and snarling the man nearly got loose before one of the men hit him across the temple. He sighed as the man slumped to the wooden floor in a heap. He would have preferred a conscious prisoner but he couldn't fault the soldiers for reacting the way they had been trained to. Besides, they had two others. Turning to the captain he had the most trust in he tore his prisoner off the wall and walked him in as his eyes scanned the house for any they missed. A free soldier was already sweeping the small house ahead of him.

"Bring anyone else they caught here." It would be easier to question them privately. It would also keep everyone else in the town safe.

"Yes, sir." The tall man exited with his eyes peeled and his weapon in his hand.

Tossing his man down in one of the kitchen chairs less than gently he let him go and pulled out his own chair, sitting down in front of him. For a brief moment he felt old looking at the boy in front of him. He couldn't be more than twenty, but he knew from experience that was old enough to be a dangerous killer nowadays. Still, he had a feeling this one wasn't. The boys brown eyes reflected fear and understanding. He knew why he was about to be interrogated.

Taking his hat off he tossed it on the table beside them and watched the younger man without blinking. He had learned how to unnerve people a long time ago. The longcoat started to shift nervously and the second one that had been cuffed started to struggle. "Don't tell them anything!"

"Take him outside." He never took his eyes off the boy as he issued the curt command. Within seconds they had dragged out both men, the one still unconscious and left him alone with his prisoner. When the door closed the boy gulped and he continued to stare.

"I didn't want to do this." He saw the boy's heartbeat speed up. It was pounding against his neck, which he noticed had a faded bruise across it. "They said they'd kill my sister if I didn't help them. I grew up during the war. I knew they would. They would have done worse than that to her before they killed her. I couldn't let them hurt her. She's all I've got left."

"Who's they?"

Brown eyes dropped to the floor. He saw shame on the young man's face. "The longcoats."

He'd seen criminals act before. He was fairly certain the boy may have stumbled into this unwillingly but he was still going to have him read by a viewer when they got to the city. Had it been safe to bring a viewer he would have already had one in here with him but they didn't do all that well in the middle of a fight. Too many things going on all at once for them to process. Raw was the rare exception to the rule. "How many are there here?"

"The other two." He jerked his head toward the door.

"Only them? I'd hate to find out you were lying to me."

Brown eyes flew up. "I'm not lying. Just them. The place wasn't big enough for anymore." The boy was eager to please. "But there are more in other towns. I can tell you where."

"I already know."

The boy slumped. "Are you going to get all of them?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "You're going to throw us all in prison?"

He was going to have this boy looked over by Furball before that happened but he didn't need to know that. "Yes."

"Can I leave a letter for Cassy?"

"Your sister?" He nodded again. "Write it and give it to me. I'll be sure it gets to her after we get back to the city." He didn't want any surprise missives going out.

"Thank you." He shifted and managed to make eye contact. "There's a shed. Out in the woods to the east. It's hidden. We were hiding arms in it."

He tapped his fingers on the table slowly. "Arms?"

The boy nodded again. "Guns, explosives, a few magic things. I don't know what those do."

"If we go out there we aren't goin' to be walkin' into anything now are we?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No, sir." Ah. That was nice. It was always good when the prisoner agreed that you were in charge and let you know. "I'll take you. No tricks."

"Does anyone else know where this shed is?"

"The other two. Ben and Marcus."

"Which one was the fighter?"

"Ben. He built it."

"Did he booby trap it?"

"No, he's not that smart."

His lip twitched for the briefest instant. "What's your name?"

"Bryant Torren."

"Alright. Sit still." He wanted to see how compliant this boy was. It would help him know how far he could trust him. Standing up he walked calmly to the door and opened it. His captain was leaning casually against the side of the house waiting for him as he watched the other soldiers holding the longcoats, patrolling the town, or talking to the other people that lived here. "Did you find anymore?"

"No, sir." The man's eyes never stopped moving over the scene. "Got a few irate farmers but once we told them what was happening they started talking. As far as they knew these three were refugees that settled here about a year ago. Never caused them any trouble so they never asked too many questions. That's the norm now. Easier for everyone if no questions are asked. Most people just want to move on."

"No good comes of keeping the town split." He agreed. He knew that for the large part people didn't want to know who was on what side the last decade or so. This tended to be even truer if a newcomer kept quiet and worked hard. For the most part the people wanted peace. That was easier to accomplish with less information than more.

"The one inside said this was all of them." The captain nodded. "Also said he could lead us to a shed with some goodies in it."

Interested the captain slid his eyes toward the inside. "Really?"

He hummed. "We'll go out tomorrow once we have some light. I don't want to get snuck up on. I don't know this area."

"Two of my men do if you'd like to get the job done. That way we can get out of here quicker."

He didn't want anyone getting hurt needlessly but he knew this captain had been head of his own resistance cell. If he thought they could get out there and back safely he had no reason to doubt that they could. "Send them out. The boy can either go with you or tell you where it is. Makes no difference to me but keep him separated from those two." He indicated the other two prisoners.

"You think they'll hurt him?"

"I'm fairly sure they already have. He's favoring his left side pretty heavily and he has bruises. I'm more worried they're goin' to kill him."

"They recruited him?"

Recruited was the army's way of saying kidnapped under extreme protest. "Pretty sure."

The captain let his attention wander to the inside of the house for a moment. "Not surprising. Big kid like that looks scary when they have him all dressed up even if he's gentle as a kitten. If he checks out, with your permission, I'll take him in."

That was giving of the man. Not many former resistance fighters gave longcoats, even the recruited ones, a chance. The captain was willing to give the boy a fighting chance. If he took him in the boy would get an education in something and would be able to get his feet under him. It was more than a lot of people got anymore thought things were getting better as the queen and consort started setting up programs and funding to help their subjects. "Good of you. He's got himself a sister. Apparently that helped motivate him to join up."

"Do you know where she is?" It was clear the man didn't like the idea of the sister being somewhere by herself.

"Nope. You can ask him. He's been more than cooperative. He'd probably be right pleased to see her."

"I'll take care of it." With that the captain straightened and started issuing orders. He watched passively as men started scrambling to carry them out. Hopefully they would get out of here by dawn tomorrow. Then he could get home. That seemed to be all he wanted anymore. He glanced up at the sky. Hopefully Deeg had accomplished her part of this as quickly and painlessly as he had.

Author Note: Sorry this took so long. I had to move, edit something, get ready for school to start, visit people, and make a mad dash out of town and back. It was craziness but hopefully this chapter was worth the wait.


	17. Chapter 17

"Jeb?" She waited patiently outside his tent until he answered her. The last thing she wanted to barge in on him doing something. Like changing clothes. That would be a great end to a crappy day. Repeating the same scenario she wanted to talk to him about. A moment later and he was pushing the oil-slicked fabric aside. When he saw her his eyes widened in alarm. Giving him a small smile she made a request. "May I come in?"

He stood back and she stepped inside. Jeb had the largest of the tents in the camp, other than the med tent. It wasn't because he needed more space to sleep. He needed a place to meet with his captains. A small, foldable table sat smashed in a corner covered with papers and maps. Walking toward it she sat down heavily in one of the chairs. "Are you alright?"

"Been better." She wiped her forehead with her sleeve and it came away covered in sweat and smeared blood. She thought she could refrain from going into detail for the moment. "You?"

"I'm fine."

She nodded and jumped straight to the point. She was drained, exhausted, hurt, and sick to her stomach. She was also fairly sure that she was so dirty a pig would run oinking in the opposite direction at the sight of her in his pen. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Believe it or not I'm getting tired of camping too." He said as he sat on his cot.

She sent him a rueful smile. "No, running around each other. I'm sorry about what happened. You have no idea how sorry." If she hadn't been about to drop she might have had the energy to blush. "And we don't have to talk about it, but Wyatt is freaking out. He spent too much time in the suit with nothing to watch or think about but you and Adora getting hurt. While I realize this is horribly embarrassing in everyway, and you don't want to look at me for fear of a flashback, that isn't what he's seeing when we keep fleeing the scene. All he sees is his family breaking apart around him." She took a breath and looked at her hands, covered in dust and blood. "And while I don't expect you to think of me as family, I know that's what he's thinking. So can we try to pretend you never opened that door and he told you over breakfast or something?"

She looked up when the cot creaked. Jeb crouched down in front of her and nodded seriously before hugging her. She was so startled that he was touching her affectionately, having never gotten anything from him but a handshake when they met, that she didn't react for a second. Catching herself she returned the embrace. He let her go and fell back on his heels. "I do think of you as family."

A tear tracked unexpectedly down her cheek and she nodded once as she quickly brushed it away. "Me too." She tried to keep the watery sound out of her voice. "And Laura. I'm so happy for the two of you. You're going to be such a good father."

"I'm nervous." He admitted quietly. She saw unease in his eyes. "I don't want what happened to me to happen to my son. I don't know how to be a father either. I'm used to dealing with the older ones. I never had anything to do with a baby before."

She had a feeling he hadn't mentioned this to anyone. "You already love him and he isn't even here. I'm pretty sure that's about all he'll want." Jeb sent her a lopsided smile. "As far as the baby part goes I think Wyatt pretty much has that down. All you have to do is ask. He'll be thrilled to pieces to show you how to change diapers. I don't think I've ever seen him as excited as when he talks about being a grandfather. It's ridiculous."

He squeezed her hand briefly as humor replaced his anxiety. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She stood up a bit shakily and he followed her. "I'm sorry to cut this short but if I don't lay down I'm going to pass out and I'm pretty sure that would be fun to explain to your troops."

He huffed out a laugh and nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully Dad will be back by the time we get there. He didn't have to go as far out as we did."

She sent him one last tired smile as she pushed the tent open. "Goodnight, Jeb." Then she was out in the cold night air. Staggering to her tent she ducked inside and collapsed on her bedroll. Ignoring how dirty she was she simply pulled the blanket over her and shut her eyes. It didn't help. She couldn't get her mind away from the day. Wishing half-heartedly that she had never walked into the med tent she reached under her shirt and pulled out her pendent. It made her feel better to run her thumb over it. Rolling to her side she stared up at her tent and simply let her mind do what it wanted. She wouldn't be able to get away from this. She would have to purge it. Closing her eyes she let herself remember the last few hours.

Standing quietly under a snow-covered tree she gazed at the town. She had been sent to the biggest of the hotspots. Glitch had told her the generals figured she might be able to turn the tide if anything went wrong. Wyatt wasn't pleased with the assessment but had refrained from arguing. It had been a tense last day for awhile there. Then things had smoothed out. She was grateful for that. She pushed the thoughts away and focused on her surroundings.

Even with all the soldiers spread around the area here she knew this was disturbing for most of them no matter how experienced they were. She would bet nine out of ten of them had been part of the resistance is some capacity or another. She knew for sure that seven of them had been in Jeb's band alone.

One of those seven was currently standing next to her in the shadows of the forest. Kinley was quiet. Not that she minded that he barely spoke. She thought he was about thirty, because they hadn't even gotten to a first name basis let alone sharing anything else personal, and he was very good at making her forget he was there. It was the strangest thing she had ever experienced. She was so used to Wyatt, and even when he wasn't talking she read his body language as if he was, that she was having a problem getting a feel for her new bodyguard. His light brown hair and cloud grey eyes made him pretty easy to pass over in a crowd. At least when he did talk he was polite.

Sighing quietly she looked up at the darkening sky. She would need to let her magic out soon. He shifted nearly imperceptibly next to her. Then his vice floated to her. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and answered as quietly as he had. "Yeah, another minute and I'll let off the signal."

He nodded in understanding and faded into the background without moving a muscle, his eyes scanning the buildings. She looked a few feet to her left and saw the general that was leading this group. He was in his early fifties and intimidating even by her standards. When he glanced over at her and nodded sharply she stepped away from the tree and concentrated. This should be the most dangerous part for her. It made her completely visible. As she thought that she lit up like a beacon as she harnessed her light. Ten seconds later and she hurled it into the air with all the force she could. The sky lit up brilliantly and she felt her magic spread to an unbelievable extent as a resounding chime echoed over the forest.

The soldiers positioned around the town rushed in as Kinley caught her arm and tugged her behind the tree again. Unless something went wrong she should be done until any wounded were brought in. She peeked around the tree to watch the soldiers and the man next to her sighed. He obviously didn't want her exposed; not even one eyeball, but he didn't drag her back. She wondered exactly what Wyatt had told him about her. Probably something along the lines of, 'keep her safe and try not kill her when she starts to drive you slowly toward the brink of insanity by never listening to anything you say'. That sounded like what the tin man would say.

A soldier broke down a door and four of them ran into a building on the edge of the town while others did the same. Her eyes darted around as they disappeared and she heard shouting start in several places before the air began to hum. The hair on her arms stood up as she felt magic coat the area. Her spine went stiff and she murmured to Kinley as she turned to look at him. "Do you feel that?"

The only thing that saved her was the slight movement. A blade slashed from the base of her jaw to her neck and she let out a shriek of shocked pain as she fell to the ground in an attempt to escape. Blood splashed down her neck and she looked up in time to see Kinley coming at her with a dagger in his hand. Her blood dripped off the end and she felt her eyes widening.

"What are you doing?" She shouted angrily.

He didn't say anything. His eyes were oddly blank as he bent down with the knife raised and she reacted. Her magic blasted out of her hand and hit him in the chest. He was hurled backward nearly ten feet and landed in a snowy bush. He didn't move and she wondered if she had killed him on accident. Her breathing came in short pants as she smacked her hand over her neck as her stomach churned. Scrambling to her feet she looked over at the town and her mouth dropped open. What the hell?

Soldiers and longcoats were everywhere. And they weren't even fighting each other. They were simply going after anything that moved regardless of who that might be. A few of them were clawing at their own faces. This was like a horror movie on steroids. As that thought passed through her mind the magic level increased. Was there another mage here? What were they doing?

Feeling around with her light she isolated the signature in the house she had seen the soldiers enter and gathered her legs under her. She had to stop this before everyone was dead. Racing out of the tree line she made it about ten yards before she was hit. It wasn't even intentional. Two men locked in a death match bowled her over. All three of them tumbled into a snow bank. She somehow got tangled in the middle and let out a shout of pain as she was hit hard across the face. Fighting back she managed to claw her way out from between them and rolled away. If she lived through this she was going to be black and blue.

Frantic to get under some sort of cover she raced toward the house more cautiously than before. She barely managed to avoid getting caught by one of her own soldiers before reaching the porch. Someone hit her from behind and her foot caught on one of the steps. She hit the boards hard as something popped. She let out a shout and twisted fast enough to blast another bolt of magic into the man reaching for her. He hit the ground and moaned.

Someone caught her from behind and she screeched as she lit up. "No, wait!" Her head spun around and a soldier glanced at her briefly, his eyes clear and full of recognition, as he hauled her up. "I'm fine!"

At least someone was. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the house as she hissed at him. "Why aren't you all crazy?"

"I don't know, Princess." She let him go when she knew he was following her, which was a good thing since a longcoat jumped at them from over the porch railing. The soldier shot him in the chest and he let out a gurgle as they kept going. She was limping badly and she was certain her foot was broken. "What's going on?"

"There's some sort of magic radiating out of this house. I think if I can stop it everyone will snap out of this."

He grabbed her shoulder. "Let me go first."

"So you can get blasted?"

"Better me than you. If you die I think everyone is shit out of luck."

Reluctantly she nodded and he moved ahead of her as the chaos continued on around them. When he got to the side of the door he held his gun ready before hurling himself inside. She was quick to follow. She saw him shoot another longcoat that lunged at him from the left and she hit one with a bolt of magic as he leapt off a table at them. The man slammed into a cabinet filled with dishes. This was insane.

The feel of magic increased and she felt it calling from upstairs. Ignoring the pain in her foot she bolted up the stairs after it. She turned a corner and was thrown violently into the nearest wall. The air flew from her lungs as she lit up more brightly than before. Her eyes snapped open as she crumpled to the ground and she spotted an oily looking man coming at her. He snarled at her. "They sent the princess?"

"No, I came for you all on my own you lucky devil."

She felt more magic gathering around him and she reacted without thought. Her magic exploded out of her and hit the man with such force that he was ripped in half. Blood splattered everywhere, including over her, and she stood up shakily. The magic hadn't stopped, that was the only thought that kept her from throwing up all over the place. Moving forward cautiously she went into the small room and saw a strange looking metronome ticking rhythmically back and forth. It was oozing with oddness. Couldn't have that. Taking aim, because she was afraid to touch the thing, she smashed it to pieces with her light. There was a kind of silent fracture that tore through the air and the sounds outside diminished.

As she turned toward the stairs she heard a series of rapid-fire orders. The general was still alive. On high alert she moved down the stairs. The soldier that had come with her was holding his side and she limped to him. "Are you alright?"

"Third one jumped out at me. I don't think the bullet hit anything important."

She spoke as she moved his hand away from his bleeding side. "Naw, it only went through you. No big deal"

He let out a short laugh at her sarcasm. "That was what I was thinking."

She looked at his wound critically. It really wasn't that bad although she was sure it hurt. "It only grazed you."

"Here." He handed her a handkerchief. When her eyebrows came together he pointed to her neck. "You're bleeding as bad as me."

That wasn't a good thing. Folding the cloth quickly she wrapped it around her neck and tied it tightly. "Thank you."

"No problem, Princess. You know, you're more fun than I imagined."

She shook her head. "Fun isn't over yet. Are you ok in here by yourself?"

"I'm fine."

She nodded. "Good. As soon as things settle down I'll come get you. Don't bleed to death while I'm gone."

"Yes, mam." He gave her a jaunty salute.

This guy was a dork. She liked him but she had to leave. Heading for the door she eased out. Spotting a small group of longcoats trying to make it out of the town she hit them with a spell. They all fell to the ground in a daze and she walked off the porch. She was running out of magic but she could see the fight was winding down. The soldiers that were still standing were pretty efficient. She didn't have to do anything else.

The general slapped a set of handcuffs on a nearby unconscious man and looked up at her briefly. "Are you hurt, Princess?"

"I'll live."

"Mind telling me what happened?"

"The leader had some sort of hypnotic magic going on. I stopped it."

"Where is he?"

"Upstairs." She pointed to the house. "I think he's in two rooms. He's not going anywhere."

He glanced between her blood soaked shirt and the house. "One less thing to worry about."

"So it seems." She indicated the house one more time. "There's a hurt soldier inside. He got shot. Grazed his ribs."

"We'll get him. Why don't you sit down? You worse off then most of my men."

"Five minutes and I promise you can carry me to Central City with no complaints."

"I doubt anyone would look kindly on that."

She was starting to think you had to be slightly insane to be in the Ozian army. And speaking of crazy, she needed to check on Kinley. Limping into the trees she found him after a few minutes of searching. She had lost track of where they had been when she sprinted out. He hadn't moved. Kneeling next to him she removed his gun from his hip, because she didn't want him to shoot her too, and started to shake him. "Kinley?"

He let out a grunt and coughed. That was better than she had hoped for. Relief spread through her when she realized she hadn't killed him. She patted his face and he opened his eyes blearily. "What the hell hit me?"

"I did." She gazed down into his grey eyes. "I'd say I was sorry but you tried to kill me."

"What?"

"Is your homicidal stint over?"

"I what?"

She patted his shoulder as he lay prone on top of the bush. "It's ok. Pretty much everyone tried to kill me. I promise not to take it personally. Honestly, you were doing really great up until the slashing."

He blinked at her. "_What?_"

"Can you stand up? I need to go help the medic. There's a lot of hurt people and he's not going to be able to get to all of them by himself."

He rolled to his side. "Great Gale, Cain was right about you."

"He usually is. What did he say?" She helped him sit up.

"That I would need another guard to protect me from you."

She let out a short laugh. "If you feel you need assistance by all means get one."

All he did was groan as she helped him to his feet. The man looked her over. "Who hit you?"

"I don't know."

He muttered as he rubbed his chest. "Med tent was set up on the south perimeter." That was helpful. She headed in that direction with him close behind. "You're limping."

"Broken foot."

He sighed. "Cain's going to kill me."

She thought that was pretty unlikely. He might get walloped although she would do her level best to prevent that from happening. It wasn't like it was his fault everyone had gone crazy. She saw the med tent up ahead and braced herself for a storm. She could hear the moaning and screams of injured men from here and the smell of blood and sweat wafted toward them as the wind changed.

She glanced over at Kinley. This was going to be nasty. "You don't have to come in with me."

"I've seen med tents before."

"If you're sure." He nodded. "Do you know when Jeb and his group are getting here?" They had gone to the town just past this one.

"Around sunset." She sighed as she pulled the tent flap open. That should give her just enough time to deal with this. One look at what was in front of her and she decided she wanted to run home and not look back. She walked in anyway.

Author Note: Clearly, school is going to be affecting my posting time. I'll do my best but I have a project heavy semester. Let the fun begin…


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

He was doing his best not to pace as he waited impatiently in a parlor with Laura. Jeb and Deeg should have been home nearly twelve hours ago. He had gotten here late last night and greeted his daughter with a tight hug before retreating long enough to clean himself up. Laura was waiting for him with hot food and coffee when he came into his living room. Moving tiredly he sat at the small table she had set and sent her a smile. "Thank you, Blossom."

"You're welcome."

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, her face serious. "I'm getting anxious. It's easier being there than waiting. I never had to think about getting stuck in the rear before."

"You couldn't have gone with any of us." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "You've got the little one to worry about."

"I know." She squeezed back. "Still."

"I know. Jeb'll be back in the mornin'."

She sent him an understanding look. "So will your princess."

He nodded and started to eat. That had been almost a day ago. They should have been home by now. His eyes scanned the skyline as the second sun started to sink over the horizon. Behind him Laura was sitting quietly on the couch trying to distract herself. She was making a quilt for the babies crib. He glanced at it and felt a brief stab of humor. He loved the girl to death but she had no talent at all when it came to making a blanket. The thing was starting to get lopsided and she had noticed. Frowning, she held it up as she tried to figure out what part she needed to take apart and remake.

While she muttered under her breath about how it was easier to make a man cry than sew a blanket, the door opened. Jeb stepped in as his eyes swept around the room. His son relaxed when their eyes met and then he was moving toward Laura. He caught her as she lunged up at him and hugged her tightly against him. He whispered something in her ear before turning to him. "Hey, dad."

Laura let him go reluctantly and he stepped over to hug his boy relieved beyond reason that he was here and in one piece. "Are you alright, Jeb?"

"I'm fine." Jeb gave him a smile and tilted his head toward the door. "DG made a strategic retreat to your suit after she escaped her family." Something filtered across his face. "She had a rough time. You might want to go see her."

Alarmed, he searched his son's face for a moment before patting his shoulder and leaving the room. He caught a brief glimpse of Jeb tugging Laura back to him and resting his hand on her stomach before he shut the door behind him. The two didn't need to get walked in on while they were reuniting. That was the last real thought he had of anyone other than Deeg for the next several hours. He was in his rooms two minutes later and calling for her. "Darlin'?"

There was a short silence before her muffled voice made it to his ears. "I'm in the bathroom." Another pause. "Can you go get Raw, please?"

He didn't like the sound of that. Leaning out the door to the hall he motioned for a passing steward. "Go get Raw. Unless he's keeping someone from drawin' their last breath I want him here in two minutes." The man nodded and he shut the door before moving toward the bathroom quickly. He knocked to let her know he was there as he opened the door. He nearly lost his head at the sight of her.

Her shirt was off and she was standing barefoot in her trousers, corset, and tin necklace as she reached for a pile of bandages in the med kit he kept shoved in the cabinets under his sink. She was covered in dark, ugly bruises and there was a nasty cut running from under her ear all the way down her neck that she was trying to get to stop bleeding. He rushed toward her as she looked up and he saw that a large bruise covered her cheek. Her eye was swelling closed. "Deeg, what happened to you?"

"Fight." Her eyes were dull and exhausted. She was shaking like crazy and right after she spoke her teeth began to chatter. Taking her gently by the shoulders he sat her on the toilet and crouched down in front of her. Taking the bandages she was holding he pressed them carefully over the cut as he kissed her unbruised cheek. She leaned her head against his as she asked him a tired question. "Are you hurt?"

"No, Darlin'." He lifted his other hand and brushed her tangled hair behind her ear. "You got hurt enough for the both of us. What happened? Where the hell was Kinley when this happened?"

She sucked in a ragged breath. "Unconscious. I knocked him out with my magic."

"You what?"

Her shoulders hunched up. "He did this to my neck." His blood ran cold. "The longcoats had some sort of magic radiating out of one of the buildings. I don't know exactly what it was. It made everyone that didn't have magic go crazy. The soldiers and the longcoats were attacking everything. Themselves, each other, the people. I was next to Kinley when the spell settled. He lost it and I hit him. By the time I figured out what was going on the only normal people were me and one of the other soldiers. I guess he has some sort of wind magic. We managed to fight our way to the building and I broke it. The metronome. Then everyone snapped out of it and the fighting started all over again. We got them all but nearly half the soldiers that went out with us are dead or really hurt." Her eyes fell away from his. "I killed the leader." He saw her clench her hands. "Wyatt, I ripped him in half."

Ozma. She covered her face with her hand and he ran his fingers over her hair as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It's over, Darlin'. You did what you had to." She nodded and he started to whisper soothingly to her as she put her head on his shoulder when the Furball rushed in.

"DG hurt." He moved out of the way so the viewer could heal her. His girl dropped her hand from her face and nodded in agreement. Raw growled in concern and slowly took the bloody bandages off her neck. "Raw will make better." Putting his fingertips on the cut he hummed as his gift flowed into the kid. A few seconds later and the cut was replaced with a very faint scar. He healed her cheek then moved his hands down. He placed one on either side of her rib cage and started to wash the bruises away. Deeg bit her lip and he knew she must be uncomfortable as the healing was speed along but she didn't protest or ask the Furball to stop.

When her skin was its normal color the viewer reached down and caught her left foot. "Should not have walked. Made break worse."

"The truck was full. There wasn't room for me."

The viewer nodded in understanding as he bit back a frustrated admonishment. If what she said was true he was sure most of the men that lived had been worse off than her. That didn't make him feel all that much better about her hiking all the way here with a broken foot. He was going to make Kinley wish she had done more than knock him on his ass. "Raw understands but DG must not put weight on foot for few days. Raw can heal but bones tricky. Must settle on own when done. Understand?"

"Yeah." When she answered he gave her a warm smile and wrapped his gloved hands around her foot. He noticed the deep bruise and swelling for the first time before it was covered. Finally the viewer was done with her and stood up.

Her big blue eyes stared up at him gratefully. "Thank you, Raw."

Patting her head he purred at her. "DG welcome. Raw will come check on princess tomorrow but now must go see to soldiers. Alchemists might need Raw to help."

"Ok."

Raw pointed to him. "Must talk to tin man. DG get clean. Will feel better."

She nodded and he started the water in the tub for her. Looking at her she pointed after the Furball and slowly stood up by herself. He wavered briefly before following the viewer. He didn't want to leave. Shutting the door to the bathroom to give her some privacy he allowed Raw to move into his living area. When they were well out of earshot the viewer gazed toward the bathroom with real worry. "Must be careful with DG. Very afraid. Hurt in heart. More than will show to tin man. Does not want to upset."

"Upset?"

Raw nodded. "Does not want Cain to be angry for not being there to help. Likes man that Cain chose as guard. Feels bad about hurting. Feels worse about killing others. Very guilty. Very sad. Sick. Has curled up inside. Raw not good at seeing but DG so afraid she is projecting images. Has never done this before when Raw close enough to see. Too much blood. Too much killing. Raw can help but not now. Many men hurt downstairs."

"Alright, Furball. I'll take care of her."

Raw nodded. "Cain always takes care but Raw wanted to tell. Sometimes DG is even better at hiding feelings than tin man."

"I know. Thank you."

"Welcome. Must go." With one last glance toward where the kid was the viewer left. He made sure the door was locked before returning to his girl.

Opening the door to the bathroom he found Deeg scrubbing her arms as steam rose up around her. She had gotten the water as hot as it would go and her skin had turned pink from the temperature. Walking up next to the tub he sat down on the floor next to her and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. It wasn't wet yet but the steam was causing it to curl in tight ringlets. She looked over at him and he caressed her cheek with is knuckles. "What happened where you were?"

He shrugged as he reached up to take the necklace off her until she was clean. He set it on the floor next to his hip before answering. "Caught three longcoats and took a shed full of weapons. One was forced into it. Raw cleared him yesterday. He wasn't more than nineteen. The other two are on their way to trial. I figure they'll be in prison in a week or two."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"One of the longcoats got knocked senseless for about an hour but that was all."

"That's good."

He took the cloth from her. "Here. Let me help." She let the cloth go reluctantly and he kissed her cheek to reassure her. He was sure she wasn't trying to get him to go away or stop him from touching her. She was simply jumpy. He started on her neck and worked his way down and around her shoulders. She leaned forward and he finished washing her back before handing her the cloth. She took it and started on her leg while he reached for her shampoo.

He set it next to him and was about to ask her to wet her hair when she dunked under the water all by herself. He bit back a smile as she turned sideways in the large tub so he could get to her curls more easily. Opening the bottle he caught the sent of aloe, a rather unusual smell for a woman's shampoo, and poured some in his hands. He massaged it into her curls. He coated her hair quickly wanting to get her under the blankets. The water was starting to cool already and her shivering was increasing exponentially. Deeg seemed to be of the same mind because she finished scrubbing her skin seconds after he was done.

She went under the water again to get rid of all the soap and he dipped his hands in the side to get rid of the shampoo on his fingers. Standing up he grabbed a towel and was next to her again as she kicked the stopper on the bottom of the tub. She reached over the side and grabbed her necklace before standing up. His heart warmed at the sight of her putting it around her neck again as he held out the towel for her. She stepped out of the tub and allowed him to wrap her up in it. Drying her gently he kissed her as he ran the cotton over her skin.

When she started to lean into him he held her up with one arm and dried her hair with the other. Finished at last he tucked the towel around her and picked her up. Deeg squeaked as he moved into the bedroom. "No walkin'."

"Cold."

"I know, Darlin'." As her arms wrapped around his shoulders he grabbed the top of the blankets and yanked them down with a snap of his wrist before setting her on the sheets. He went to his dresser and grabbed one of his shirts for her to put on. She took it from him with a quiet thank you and tugged it over her head after she tossed the towel away. Then she twisted and crawled under the quilt. Undressing he slid in with her after turning the light off. When he moved to cradle her against him she darted under his arm and pressed into his chest. He stroked the back of her head. Deeg was always tactile but this sudden need for comfort was pretty out of the ordinary. Even when she was upset she often refrained from asking him to make her feel better. Then again, that had been before. They didn't have the same relationship anymore.

"Shh, Deeg." He kissed her lips briefly. "You're safe at home with me." She nodded silently and hid her face in his shoulder. The kid was shaking harder than he'd ever seen before and he ran his hand over her head. "Darlin', it's alright."

"I'm sorry." He pulled her closer against him when her voice wavered.

"You don't need to be sorry for anything. You're allowed to be upset."

She raised her head and he caressed her cheek. Leaning up she found his lips and kissed him softly. Holding her face he let her decide what was happening. She deepened the kiss and he groaned into her mouth. Her hands came up to cup his face as she pressed the length of her body against his. "Missed you, Wyatt." She mumbled between kisses.

"I missed you too, Kid." She nodded and tossed her leg over his hip.

"Show me."

Understanding what she was asking he rolled her onto her back. Her hands ran over his shoulders as he pushed his shirt to her waist. Deeg caught his lips as he spread her legs open. Her legs locked around his waist as he nibbled her bottom lip. Then he was easing into her. She whimpered as he bottomed out inside of her and he stayed still as he kissed her. Cupping her face he tangled his tongue with hers as she clenched around him.

He refused to move until she relaxed below him. Running his hands over her she undulated under him in an attempt to get him to move and he kissed her jaw. "Easy. I'm not goin' anywhere." He brushed his hand down her abdomen. "And neither are you. We're home and safe. I want you with me right now."

"I am."

Her shaking hadn't let up in the slightest and he caught her face and turned it until they were looking at one another. The kid wasn't even in the same room as he was right now. She was somewhere else. It wasn't a good place for her to be either. "No, you're not. Look at me." Her eyes found his and he caressed her jaw. After a minute her eyes cleared and he kissed her gently. "Good girl." He rocked his hips gently and she let out a quiet mewl. Once he was sure she was at the same place he was he rolled them to their sides as he held tightly to her hip keeping them pressed together.

Deeg gasped and grasped at him. He thrust into her at a steady pace and her leg tightened over him as she rocked with him. Locking his mouth with hers he drove her up quickly. Stretching his thumb out he rubbed her clit in time with the movement of his hips. Deeg let out a loud whimper. "Fall, Darlin'. I'll be here to catch you."

Her body went stiff and she moaned as she tucked her head into his neck. Her warm breath blew over his neck as she came in a hot wave around him. He followed her and slumped over her as his head spun. Panting, Deeg pressed her face under his jaw. He held her close to him and buried his nose in her hair. Both of them were covered in a sheen of sweat and his girl's teeth began to chatter again. Making love to her may not have been the best idea with her drained. Pulling the quilt back over them he shifted so he was covering as much of her as he could.

He felt her start to cry before he heard it. Her body hitched over a shudder and she tried to turn her face into the pillow. Damn it. "Shhh." He tangled his fingers in her hair. "It's okay." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her to him and pressed his cheek over her head. Running his hand over her back he let her sob into his shoulder. It would be better to let her get this out of her system.

He could barely make out her strangled words. "There was so much blood everywhere."

"I know there was." She cried harder. Having never seen the girl break down this way he was unsure of what to do. Deeg had been so stable with him up until now that he was at a loss. His levelheaded princess, that was so full of light and sweetness, had reached her breaking point.

Her hands gripped at his arms. "He came apart like some sort of sick rag doll." The leader? Before he could say anything his girl continued on brokenly. "He was all over me. He was all over everything. How could I do that?" She started to flash erratically and he became even more worried. She was already badly drained. The last thing she needed was to unintentionally kill herself because she was distressed. "Then I was afraid you wouldn't be here when I got back." After that he couldn't understand anything she said. Not that she tried to say much more. She was crying too hard.

"Deeg, Darlin', you need to calm down." He kissed her forehead. "I'm right here. I know you're upset but your magic is fannin' off you. You're goin' to hurt yourself if you don't stop." His girl sucked in a breath and nodded. "Good girl." He kissed her forehead again as he rubbed her. "It's okay." Deeg was struggling to get her magic to stop. "Breathe."

Several long minutes later and her light flickered twice before going out completely. His girl lay limply below him as one shuddering breath after another left her. Reaching up he wiped the tears off her cheeks before she turned her head into his neck and went still all over. Running his hand down her neck he decided to let her hide herself away for a little while. He thought she deserved that after the last few days. "Are you goin' to be able to sleep?"

The kid stared at some point over his shoulder. "Think so."

"Alright, Deeg. I promise we can talk in the mornin' once you rested." She nodded and he stroked her cheek. "It's alright." He continued to reassure her as he pulled her head to his shoulder. She curled up against him snuggly and he whispered into her hair. "I love you."

"Love you too."

He rubbed her shoulders until the tension drained out of her. It took his girl nearly an hour to fall asleep but at least she did. When her quiet breathing was all he could hear he let himself calm down. His family was home again. For the moment the only think he felt was a strong surge of gratefulness that they had managed to get back. He stroked the kid's curls. He'd let himself worry about what to do with her in the morning. For now he relaxed and held her close as he drifted off to sleep.

Author Note: Ahhh! The angst! It won't last long I promise.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Tin Man doesn't belong to me.

Twisting slowly under his arm so she wouldn't wake him up she tucked her head under his chin. It was early but she had woken up and couldn't fall asleep again. Cold winter light began to filter through the thin curtains across the room and she snuggled closer to the tin man. She was still shivering, she had been for almost two days now, and she thought that wasn't the best thing ever. Once everyone was awake she should probably go see her sister. Maybe Az would know how to make her stop. She should have done that before actually. At least she wasn't all out shaking anymore and her teeth had stopped clacking together.

Staring at Wyatt's skin she tried to get a handle on what had happened last night. That had been bad. She had totally, completely, flipped out on him. She hadn't meant to do that. She had made it all the way back to Central City without doing that. Then she saw him and it was over. It had all been too much and she snapped like a rubber band that had been pulled too far. She couldn't do that anymore. It wasn't fair to subject him to her insanity just because he made her feel safe when he was around. She was better than one of those girls. She was not a spazz. She was not a crier. Repeating this mantra in her head firmly to solidify the idea she completely missed the tin man waking up.

"Darlin'?" His arm wrapped up behind her head and started stroking her hair. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." She jumped straight to the point. If she let this hang around it would get awkward and follow them around until one or both of them died. "I'm sorry about last night."

"You're what?"

"Sorry about last night. I didn't mean to go all princess sparkles on you."

He let out a single huff of amusement before going serious and kissing her head. "Don't be sorry about needin' to let things out." His hand tangled in her hair. "Especially after what happened. Alright?"

She nodded into his shoulder thinking he was far too nice to be real sometimes. He shifted her slightly so her head was on the pillow and he could look at her. His big hand cupped her cheek and she stared into his eyes. She could see worry swimming in them. God damn it. She had freaked him out big time. "I'm ok."

"Are you?"

"Yeah."

He kissed her gently. "You know you can't lie to me." She dropped her eyes feeling stupid and guilty for doing that. He touched his nose to hers. "I know you're upset. That's normal. You don't have to pretend like you're not. Ozma knows you never let me do that."

Her fingers began to twist under the pillow. "I'm just…" She closed her mouth and tried to get her thoughts in order. "I guess I'm not good at dealing with things."

His thumb ran over her cheek. "You're plenty good at dealing with things." He didn't blink as he spoke. "You just seem to think you have to be super human. I don't understand it."

"I told you when we were at the tepee that I did things for myself. I never got to stop or think about being upset. I panic when I, well, when I panic I guess."

"That's an interestin' mind set."

"You've known I was weird for several years now."

His lip curled up at the corner. "That's true. I only have myself to blame."

Fussing, she shoved at his shoulder. "You don't have to agree with me!"

A rumbling chuckle came out of him and he caught her as she rolled over. Pulling her back he wrapped himself around her. "I thought that's what a woman expected in a man."

"You know what? Don't even try to turn this around on me."

He kissed the top of her head. "Sorry, Deeg."

She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just sucking up."

"You caught me." He stroked her arms and let the teasing die away as he changed the subject. "Raw wants to talk to you once you're cleaned up and dressed."

"About what?" Her head turned around as an idea settled unpleasantly in her. She felt her stomach clenching. "Did I do something wrong? Did one of the soldiers get worse? Is that what he wanted to talk to you about last night?"

"No." He rubbed her arm more firmly before she could continue to work herself up into a knot. "You didn't do anything wrong when you were healin'. He's goin' to help you settle things." He reached up and tapped her temple gently with his finger. "You scared him last night. He said you were projectin' things."

"Oh." She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

He must have seen her eyes go distant. "Deeg." She refocused on him. "I understand that this is hard for you. Openin' up instead of burrin' things away. I'm like that too but Furball will make you feel better. Trust me on this."

She looked at him for a second while she processed that. "You talked to Raw before?"

"I did." He sighed and shifted a bit. "About four months after you let me out of the suit."

"Why?" She rolled over in his arms so she could see him more easily. She could tell he was uncomfortable and immediately tried to take back the question. That had been flat out nosey. "Never mind. That's not something I should have asked." She kissed him in apology.

"You know I don't mind you askin' me things." He patted her shoulder. "My nightmare's were gettin' bad. I wasn't sleepin'. When I started fumin' at you in the library for no reason I realized I needed to sort a few things out."

She remembered that. She hadn't put all that much thought into his surly behavior at the time. Sometimes he was just grumpy. She thought he had reason to be. She also thought his slow progression into less sullen behavior was normal. She had never considered that maybe he had done anything more than have some serious self-reflection on his attitude. "It helped?"

He considered the question. "Not at first. At first it just set my temper off. I don't think I talked for three days. I was sure if I did I would end up shootin' someone. Took me a week or so, and Raw deciding to be blunt in a particularly bad session, for me to realize that I was usin' the anger to avoid feelin' anything else. After that it got, maybe not easier, but better. I wasn't angry all the time even if I wasn't sleepin' for different reasons."

She lifted her hand and caressed his jaw at his honest answer. "You never told me that was why we ended up playing cards until four in the morning all the time."

"You were dealin' with your own troubles, Deeg. I know how hard it was for you at first even if you didn't say anything about it." He sighed again before he continued. "I didn't make it much easier on you either."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say." His eyebrow popped up and she caught his hand. "You're grumpy stoicism got me through. Trust me on this. I would have bailed if you hadn't been here."

"Bailed?"

"Fled, escaped, run for the hills."

He didn't seem at all convinced that she would have left. "No, you wouldn't have."

"It would have been a serious consideration if you hadn't been with me." She twined their fingers together. "You were the only one that explained anything to me without making me feel like an idiot. This place is so different. You were the only one that seemed to get that."

"Ahamo grew up in your world."

"Yeah, but I think he's been here so long he forgot what it was like to transition." She shrugged. "And he was with Lavender trying to get things under control. You were with me all the time." Her lip twitched up as she ran over the memories of asking him question after question when she didn't understand something. "I swear you have the patience of a saint. I would have strangled me fifty times over if I were you."

He laughed quietly. "I only seriously considered that five or six times."

"Should I ask when those incidents might have been?"

"It's better if you don't know." This statement was followed by his hand moving to her neck. He started to unbutton the shirt she had on. "Don't want you angry with me." His knuckles brushed over her skin as he parted the shirt and she sighed softy.

"Nope, don't want that."

He kissed her neck and his voice dropped huskily. "What do you want?"

Her body warmed all over at the question. Eyes hooded she pressed into his hand as it circled her navel. She fought briefly with the urge to keep her mouth shut due to embarrassment. It had taken her some time to realize that when Wyatt asked her a question like that he wanted to know the answer. However, after the spanking incident she wasn't finding much to be embarrassed by anymore. Arching her neck she answered saucily. "I would tell you but I don't feel like asking nicely."

He growled playfully into her shoulder before he nipped her skin. "That's a shame." Her eyes narrowed and she pushed him down her body. He continued to laugh as he kissed his way across her collarbone. "Bossy."

"I'm a princess. It's in my nature."

"Is it now?" His lips grazed the top of her breast. "Might be a problem."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm goin' to have you beggin' me not to stop." He licked her nipple before continuing. "Goin' to be awfully hard for you to boss me around when you can't think about anything but screamin' yourself hoarse."

Her fingers tightened over his shoulders at that and he smiled as he kissed and nibbled his way down her rib cage. The tin man was obviously having a good time toying with her right now. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing. When he was in these moods he tended to make her wait. Which, in her opinion, could be considered cruelty to the most extreme degree. It was evil the way he kept her on edge… He kissed her inner thigh and her thoughts faded to the background.

Reaching down she tangled her fingers in his hair in an attempt to drag him where she wanted him. Fat lot of good that did her. One of his hands flattened over her stomach as the other snapped around to swat the outside of her thigh. When she jerked at the slight sting he growled into her leg. "Patience."

"Wyatt." She whined softly. A new tactic was needed if force wasn't going to work. She could be pathetic if she set her mind to it. He smacked her again and she cursed internally. That hadn't worked either.

As she tried to come up with a third alternative his hand pressed her down more firmly. "Only thing you're going to be doin' is screamin' when I decide to make you. You might as well relax. I'm taking my time." He kissed her leg before continuing. "I haven't had you squirmin' under me in over a week." He continued to kiss her. "Nearly drove me crazy thinking about you and not being able to touch you." Another kiss. "Or talk to you." He was moving down her thigh. "Or have you sleepin' next to me."

She moaned at him. "Wyatt."

"Or hearin' you say my name that way." He kissed her curls and her hands tightened in his hair as she whimpered for him to continue. He was so close. Then his lips were on her clit and she thought her eyes were going to roll out of her head as her back bent. He hummed in approval of her action and sucked her gently.

"Oh, god!" He was applying just enough pressure to drive her completely insane. "Wyatt, please!"

He ignored her and continued to tease her. He drove her up to her breaking point at a snails pace. Twice. She couldn't take anymore of this. His tongue traced her carefully and she cried out in frustration. "Wyatt Cain! I swear if you don't stop torturing me I'm never speaking to you again." He laughed at her. He laughed. She yanked on his hair. Hard. He grunted in pain. "I'm serious! I'm about to explode!"

He moved his head up and kissed her thigh again. "This is you beggin'? Threatin' my life?"

She let out a strangled sob. "Wyatt!"

"Bit better." He latched onto her clit again and rolled his tongue expertly. She wailed as he finally threw her into bliss. Her orgasm was so strong she nearly blacked out. She was only vaguely aware that she screamed as her body convulsed. By the time she came back to herself he was moving up back up her body. His lips were leaving a warm trail over her flushed skin and she tried to lift her arms up to his shoulders. She only had minimal success. They weren't functioning properly. By the time he reached her mouth she managed to form a single coherent thought. Letting a questionably safe crazy person out of a tin suit was the best life decision she had ever made.

Gaining control of her limbs she held his head as she kissed him enthusiastically. When his hand started to tangle in her hair and tilt her head back she shoved her elbow into the mattress and flipped them over. Letting her curls go he ran his hands down her sides as she attacked his neck with her mouth. When she started to slip down his body he caught her arms and dragged her up. "Not what I want right now, Darlin'."

Fair. At this point she would have done practically anything he asked for. Raising up on her knees she positioned him and lowered herself over him slowly. He groaned and grabbed her hips as she sank down. When she started to raise herself he pulled her down over him until they were pressed flat together. Kissing her he started to guide her hips back and forth. Getting the hint she moved the way he wanted as his tongue darted into her mouth. Bracing herself with her arms she tightened her inner muscles and his hands tightened around her waist.

Breaking away he gasped. She did it again and he tilted his head up and clamped his mouth on her shoulder. Sucking on the same place he had before he put a new bruise over the one that had faded away a few days ago. She cried out at the combined sensation and ground against him more quickly. He let out a grunt and pressed her against him as his hips snapped up. Letting out another loud cry she shuddered as she lost control and her arms folded under her. He thrust up once more before groaning her name into her ear.

Panting she lay limply over his chest. A few minutes later and he started to stroke his hands all over her. There wasn't a pattern to it. He was just touching her. She cooed into his shoulder and his hands moved more leisurely across her skin as they cooled off. Turning her head she kissed his jaw before sharing her thought. "So good. All the time."

He nodded in agreement and she let her head flop down. She wasn't sure how long they laid there before he kissed her forehead and sat them up. Grumbling in protest of this action had him rubbing her shoulder. "I promise we can spend all night tangled up together but we need to get up now."

"Why?"

He kissed her on the lips. "We have to go to the debriefing in an hour and you need to talk to Raw. Then I have to make sure the royal guard behaved themselves the last week before talking to Kinley."

She leaned back and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why are you talking to Kinley?"

He slid her off his lap. "We need to have a talk."

"Wyatt." Her warning was ignored as he headed to his dresser. Rolling her eyes she buttoned up the shirt that had somehow managed to stay on her through the last hour or so. She followed him as he tugged on a pair of pants. "You do not get to yell at him because of what happened."

Catching her face he pecked her on the lips. "Of course I do." He kissed her again. "And when I'm done I can shoot him."

"What?" She poked him. "No!" He smiled in a satisfied kind of way as he put his arms in a clean shirt. Annoyed, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Nothing that happened was his fault. He couldn't help getting knocked silly with a spell."

"No, but he did let you walk back here on a broken foot." He eyed her. "Did you tell him it was broken?"

"Yeah."

His eyes flashed in annoyance. "That was damn stupid of him."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "We had to get back!"

"Then he should have found another transport to put you on." She opened her mouth to protest and he held up his hand. "Before you get annoyed with me for treatin' you like the princess you are let me point out that there were other wounded walkin'." He met her eyes. "Am I wrong?"

"No, but-"

"He should have thought, Deeg. I didn't get you a bodyguard without a brain. Kinley is smarter than he acted."

"No one else got a transport either. I didn't think about that."

"And I'm sure your drain wasn't makin' you less than your normal quick thinkin' self?" He raised his eyebrow in question.

"Ok, admittedly I get a little spacey-"

"You don't get spacey." He actually knew what that meant after two years. "You're brain starts actin' like you've been drugged. It slows down and your body temperature drops. That isn't your fault and one of the many reasons you have a guard in the first place. Kinley may have been knocked on his ass but his brain was workin' just fine after you broke that spell. I never would have let you hike for three days with a broken foot. That was irresponsible and downright stupid. What if you had to run? What if you'd missed some longcoats and they attacked you on the road? You were already drained and you couldn't escape. What would have happened?"

She opened her mouth before shutting it uneasily. She hadn't thought about that. She had been too busy worrying about the wounded and whether or not the tin man was safe once she was sure Jeb was. When she wasn't doing that she was trying to ignore how bad she was hurting and how cold she was. Wyatt saw her processing the question and caressed her cheek with his knuckles. "You would have been hurt worse than you are at the very least." Cain was driving the point home. "You were too drained to use much magic, you were half frozen, and you couldn't have run anywhere. That's what I need to talk to Kinley about. If he can't use his head then I'll find someone else to look out for you. There aren't second chances when it comes to sneak attacks. You know that as well as I do. I'm not going to let you put your life in danger because you like someone. That isn't what this is about. It's about protecting you regardless of the situation or feelings involved."

She understood his logic. She had agreed to this. She had agreed to let him choose who would be her bodyguard. It wasn't fair to get angry at him when he was trying to be sure she was safe. She could only imagine how hard it was for him to allow someone else to go with her instead of him. "Alright."

"Good." She could tell he was relieved they weren't arguing about this. "If it makes you feel better I don't intend to replace him. I just want to drive the point home that if you get hurt he dies."

Her lip curled up in amusement. "Try not to be too subtle."

He huffed out a laugh. "I'll do my level best but you know how hard it is for me to get to a point."

"I know it's a struggle." She responded dryly.

He pulled her into a hug and her arms twined around his neck. He lowered his head and she met his lips warmly. He explored her face tenderly for a few minutes before placing a last kiss on her nose. "Best go and get dressed. We have to go soon and I figure you might want breakfast."

Her eyes lit up. "Food?"

He chuckled. "Hot food. From the kitchens. No more trail rations." Grinning up at him she let him go and spun away. That was the best idea she'd heard all morning. She really needed to find a pair of pants. Wyatt's amused glance followed her out of the room.

Author Note: I'm not feeling real clever today. I think it's the drizzle going on outside my window. It's drained my creativity right away.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

With a sigh he looked down at the yipping, wriggling fur balls. A few days ago he had been more optimistic about this. He had thought a few stops with Raw and he would have the perfect gift for Deeg. She had said she always wanted a puppy when they were at the lake. He thought everyone should have a dog at some point. It was a special bond that nothing else compared to. He remembered his first dog. She had been a pretty golden animal with long hair and gentle eyes. His mother had given her to him for his tenth birthday. She had wanted to teach him responsibility with it. Lesson learned. He'd gotten a hell of a lot more out of the experience than that as well. He had loved that dog.

After the last few weeks he thought the kid deserved a surprise. A good surprise. Not one that involved blood, fighting, or anything else that was likely to cause nightmares. After her visit with Raw she hadn't slept for nearly a week. Then she had nightmares for another one. He didn't know what the viewer did, or what Deeg had shared with him, but she was nervous as a cornered deer for a time. He had seen her fighting the impulse to run at loud noises more than once but the reaction faded away in a few weeks time. The battle affected her more strongly than he had originally imagined. That, or she had been repressing things for so long they had simply overrun her all at once. Regardless, she was much calmer now. Raw had assured him nothing was wrong when he caught him watching her from across a room and she had certainly been acting like herself. She probably needed to get it all out to be done with it. However, he couldn't be with her all the time. If she got upset and he wasn't around he wanted something for her to fall back on. A 'fuzzy thing' seemed to be the perfect idea.

Content with the idea, and knowing she would go into ecstatic, he had kidnapped the viewer and gone into the city. He wanted to be careful about getting her the right animal. There was no reason for him to accidentally pick out a cute looking one that turned out to be crazy. He rather the girl get the ugliest dog in the O.Z. as long as it was well behaved and easy to train. He figured taking Raw would be a good idea. Not that he'd ever seen him read a dog before but it seemed like a logical jump. When he dragged the man to the first set of puppies and told him what he wanted Raw had begun to chuckle.

"Cain want Raw to read dogs?"

"The kid wants one."

"Why bring Raw and not DG?"

He grumbled as the owner of the litter talked to a mother and her young daughter. "I want it to be a surprise. I thought you could pick out the right one for her." And if he had brought the kid she would have adopted the whole litter on the spot without a thought. Then he would be surround by a pack of questionably sane puppies. No. The Furball was a much better choice.

His dark eyes had sparkled and he turned his head. "Not here."

"What? You didn't even touch 'em."

Raw shrugged. "Only dogs. Raw does not need to touch to read. None right for DG."

He sighed. "Alright. There are plenty of other dogs in the city. Let's go."

Raw nodded, but before they left the viewer moved forward and picked up a small brown one that was trying to leap out of the crate with five white spots running along its left leg. Lifting it up he handed it the little girl. Looking up at her mother he rumbled at her. "This good dog. Will listen. Protect. Play with daughter. Should take." The young mother smiled as the puppy began to bark and lick her daughter's face.

"Thank you, sir." People rarely ignored the advice of a viewer.

"Welcome."

Then he stood and they continued on their way. That had been three days ago. Since then they had been to nearly every part of the city and literally seen hundreds of puppies. It wasn't that the girl wasn't worth the trouble but he was sure he had spent less time picking out his first house. He simply hadn't foreseen this being such a challenge, and yesterday Deeg had asked him where he kept disappearing to with sadness in her eyes. It had taken him well over an hour to get that sadness to vanish and even then he knew the girl was confused and probably thought something horribly wrong was about to happen. He knew that look. It was the one that she had adopted after she found out she had been raised by robots. It wasn't a good look. He didn't want that look associated with him. The cross between sadness, anger, confusion and betrayal. If they didn't find what he was after today this would be the end of it. He wasn't going to start a fight or let anxiety build for no reason.

Then Raw hummed and his eyebrow quirked up. The viewer moved to the pen that had been set up for the six puppies and their mother. At a nod from the owner he stepped inside and went straight to the biggest of them. Stepping to the edge of the barrier he watched as Raw scooped up the dog and looked it over. It wasn't the one he would have picked out for the girl but the viewer didn't seem keen to put it down.

The puppy looked more like a wolf than a dog. Her white fur was tipped in black and she was beautifully marked. Swirls of black on white covered her and it almost looked like she was wearing an exotic mask. Tipping her long nose up she sniffed Furball inquisitively and he caught sight of electric blue eyes as her curled tail wagged. Raw scratched her ears and nodded at him. "This one."

Glancing between the mother and the pup he did some mental calculations and agreed. She would get big but not unmanageably so. Pulling out some money he paid for the dog and then the viewer was handing her to him. He grunted at the sudden arm full of warm fur and then again when the pup started sniffing around his collar and ear. Heading toward the palace he tried to get the dog under control. "Of all the puppies in the city you had to pick the one that wiggles the most."

The viewer chuckled. "Cain said wanted one that went with DG. Happens to wiggle. Not Raw's fault this is so."

"She also needs a bath." He held the pup away from him and eyed her fur critically. "I think she might have fleas."

"Not bad. Tin man get rid of them and she very healthy. Will need collar."

"Got one. Did that before I grabbed you."

Raw must have seen a picture of what it looked like in his head and smiled at him in approval. "Blue. Cain will make DG very happy with gift."

Proud of himself, he tucked the puppy against his chest. He couldn't wait to see her face when he gave Deeg her present but first he needed to clean it up. When they got to the palace he thanked Raw for his help and snuck to his room. It would ruin the surprise if he got caught with it unwrapped. Locking himself in he went to his bathroom and filled the bottom of the tub with warm water after setting the puppy on the tile floor. She immediately started sniffing the rugs and jumping around his feet as she explored.

He stared down at her as she let out a small bark and tackled his boot. He wasn't fazed by the impact but it had her rolling backward. She staggered to her feet and shook her fuzzy head. He huffed out a laugh and shrugged out of his duster and holster before rolling up his sleeves. Reaching down he petted her all over as she rolled around on the floor. Her tail wagged and she threw her oversized feet up in the air at him happily as her tongue lolled out. "Now don't go flirtin' with me. Once I get you clean you're going to you're real owner."

She yipped again at the sound of his voice and he picked her up and set her in the warm water. She jumped up at the feel of the water and he chuckled. Her ears went up as she stared down at it and hopped around. He was sure she had never been leg deep in it before. About ten seconds later the pup decided she liked baths and began to bounce around the tub eagerly as she nipped at the water. Within seconds she had managed to soak herself, saving him the trouble. Laughing at her he realized why Raw had been so sure this was the right dog for his girl. Reaching for his shampoo he lathered her up quickly before methodically getting all the fleas out of her thick fur while she tried to play with him. Twenty minutes later and he rinsed her off and let the water drain away. The poor thing didn't like that at all. The noise scared her and he scooped her up when she fled to the opposite end of the porcelain.

"You better get used to odd noises if you're goin' to stay sane around Deeg." Grabbing a towel he dried her off and found himself face to face with a puppy sized static ball. "Huh." Grabbing his hairbrush he made a note to get a new one and started to brush her fur down. Finally managing to get it under control he reached into the cabinet under his sink and pulled out the collar he had picked up. As soon as it was around her neck she started shaking her head like crazy. He let her have at it. "You'll get used to it." Sitting down with puppy gracelessness she started scratching at it. Eventually she gave up, and after looking at him for a moment, tried to jump onto his leg so he could pet her some more. Taking that as a sign he picked her up. "Let's find our girl."

He changed quickly in case any of the fleas had decided to escape onto his clothes, narrowly saving his pillow from the animal's sharp teeth, then snuck out into the hall. The pup made it harder. She was vocal about her new surroundings. Several of the guards shot him surprised looks when small yips and barks erupted from under his arm. He glared at them and they went back to guarding. If he was going to be in charge of them he didn't need a puppy undermining his authority. When he got to the kid's door he tapped the dog's nose gently and she stared up at him. "Shhh." Her ears went up and she wagged her tail as she licked his fingers. Yeah, she had understood that perfectly.

Reaching out he knocked on the door and waited. "Come in."

Balancing the dog behind his back he opened the door to find Deeg sitting at her desk writing furiously. "Hey, Darlin'." He kicked the door shut behind him.

Her eyes came up to his and he saw a certain amount of relief in them. "You're back early."

"Found what I was lookin' for today."

Her eyebrows drew together. "You were looking for something?"

He walked to her and crouched down in front of her with his hand still behind his back. "I was."

Her eyes darted to his hidden hand then to his eyes. "What were you-"

The puppy yipped and she jerked backward, startled. Lip twitching, he pulled out her new dog and set it in her lap. Her hands went around it automatically as she stared down at it blankly. Then the puppy was jumping up at her and licking her face adoringly. She squeaked and started to laugh as the puppy showered her with unrestrained love. "Wyatt!"

Rumbling out a laugh he caught the puppy and held it away enough that she could talk. "Yes?"

"You got me a puppy?"

"Do you like her?"

"Yes!" Taking the dog from him she held her and leaned forward so she could kiss him enthusiastically. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

She smiled at him beautifully then all her attention was on her new pet. She started talking to the puppy animatedly as she cuddled it and he shook his head when the pup started barking back. After a few minutes the girl glanced up at him. "What's her name?"

"She's your puppy."

The girl blinked as if she hadn't thought of that. "I get to name her?"

"Well, sure, Darlin'."

Lifting the puppy up she crooned at her. "What should I name you?" She started barking and Deeg set her down on the ground. The pup began to run around them excitedly and promptly tripped over her own feet tumbling nose over tail. "Aww!"

He laughed at her obvious adoration of her gift and then she was in his arms and kissing him like crazy. Grunting in surprise he caught her and they fell backward into a chair. Sprawling awkwardly he held her over him as she peppered his face with kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I'm glad you like her."

Catching his face she kissed him soundly. "Best present ever!"

"Good. Go play with her then. I'll help you start trainin' her tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

He kissed her nose. "Yeah."

"Ok." Then she was on the floor with her dog and rolling her in circles. Dizzy, the puppy staggered to her feet and yipped as her tail wagged. "I think I'll name her Sookie."

"Pretty name."

Deeg just laughed and scratched her ears. Content with the scene he watched as the kid wore the pup out. After nearly two hours Sookie collapsed in a heap and started snoring on the rug in front of the fireplace. Realizing her dog was done Deeg stood up long enough to crawl in his lap. "Is that where you've been disappearing to the last couple of days? I thought you were mad at me or something."

"I would have told you if I were angry about somethin'. I didn't mean to make you think that." He stroked her hair. "It took Raw longer to find the right one than I thought it would."

She stared at him. "You took Raw?"

"I wanted to get you a good dog."

"So you had Raw read puppies?" He could hear the humor in her voice. "Wyatt-" She sat up straighter so they were at eye level. "How many did you look at?"

He shrugged. "A few."

Her head tilted as her eyes twinkled. "How many is a few?"

"I lost count after the first eight dozen."

She blinked. "That's almost a hundred. You looked at over a hundred?" He shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Oh." Catching his face she kissed him gently. "You are the sweetest man."

And that made the whole thing worth it right there. He rumbled happily at the praise. "I'm glad you like her."

Twisting, she straddled his lap. "So much. I never had a dog before." She kissed him. "Really, thank you."

Cupping her face he pulled her in for a kiss. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she moaned softly into his mouth. Growling softly he tightened his grip on her. Her hands moved down his chest as she began to unbutton his vest. As soon as he felt it coming apart he looped one of his arms under her and stood up. She hummed approvingly as he moved them into the bedroom and didn't let go of him until he set her on the bed. Deeg had his clothes off him in record time and he wasn't far behind getting her undressed. Picking her up again he tossed her farther onto the mattress and she laughed as he crawled over her.

Catching his face she peppered it with kisses and he laid over her and rubbed his hand across her skin. The kid arched up into him eagerly and he really thought she liked her present even more than he thought. Then she flipped them over and kissed him on the mouth as she ground her hips over him. Holding her tightly he rolled her onto her back again. This playful fight for dominance while they were in bed had been going on for about a week now. It always ended with both of them attempting to catch their breath after trying to see who came out on top. Literally. He had no clue how it had started but he wasn't keen on stopping the good-natured warfare. It was too much fun. But right now he intended to win. This round at least.

Catching her knee under his arm he pulled it up and the kid undulated up into him. Taking that as a white flag he slid into her and she sighed in satisfaction as she gripped at his sides. He started moving and she found his lips quickly. Returning the kiss he groaned into her mouth when she squeezed him. Her breathy laugh filled his ears and when she lowered her head to the pillow he nipped her neck in rejoinder. "Rotten."

She squeezed him again and her fingers trailed up his back. "Harder, Tin Man."

He snapped his hand up to grip the headboard in order to gain leverage. Holding it tightly he shoved into her roughly and she cried out as she clutched at him. The bed started to squeak under them as he drove her up and she moaned and panted at him. Her nails were scratching across his back and he grunted at the sting even as it pushed him closer to his breaking point. Watching her face he saw her eyes start to glaze over and twisted his hips as he thrust into her. She exploded under him with a scream. He didn't make it much longer with her plastered against him and pulsing and slumped down over her. His arm fell to the mattress and he managed to let her leg go before he went limp.

Deeg was gasping beside his ear as her hair tickled his nose. Reaching up he tucked her curls behind her ear and ran his thumb over the side of her face. Contentment settled over him fast as he covered her with his body. He was unbelievably happy anymore. He wasn't sure he deserved to be. He was wrapped up with his girl with no danger of any kind about to bother them, his family had settled, and Laura was due any day now. His son was going to be a father. He smiled at the thought and Deeg looked over in time to see it. "What are you thinking about?"

"That I'm happy."

She smiled and rolled him over so she could lounge over his chest. "You're thinking about the baby." She tickled his ribs and he batted at her hands. "You have the baby look in your eye."

"I was thinking about you too."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "It's good to know I'm in there. Have you talked to Jeb about that since we got back?"

"What do you mean?"

Going up on her elbows she looked down at him. "Wyatt, he's nervous."

"He's what?"

"Nervous about the baby."

He felt his forehead crinkling. "Why?"

Deeg rolled her eyes. "Were you nervous before Jeb was born?"

"No, I was…" He stopped and thought about that. Admittedly, he had been anxious over the whole thing. Other than worrying about Adora and what might happen if something went wrong during the delivery he had been pretty unsure about what was going to happen. But Adora had come from a big family and didn't seem at all concerned to have a little one to take care of. He on the other hand, wasn't used to children. Not that he hadn't been thrilled to know he was going to be a father. He simply wasn't sure how to be one. That hadn't been a problem once he held his newborn in his arms. One look at Jeb sleeping against his chest and he was a lost cause. There had been so much joy around that moment that he had pushed the other things away as trivial and not thought about them again.

Deeg tilted her head. "A little bit then?"

"Before he came."

"I think Jeb's at about the same place. Except he's worried the war is going to start all over again. It freaks him out."

He sighed. He hadn't even thought about that. Which was a strange thing for him to admit to. He usually had every situation assessed in under ten seconds. His excitement over being a grandfather had blinded him. He ran his hand over the kid's hair as he took that in. "I wasn't thinkin'."

"Hey." She caught his face and kissed him gently. "Don't get yourself worked up. This is a happy thing. That's what it's supposed to be. It's so happy you went a little starry eyed. Jeb isn't about to flip out or anything. I just think it might be good if you talked to him. He mentioned something about not knowing how to change diapers."

He blinked up at her. "He told you that?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" He was curious.

His girl shrugged. "I never had a baby either. Maybe he thought I would understand. And I think he wanted me to tell you in a, 'don't tell my dad I'm a bundle of nerves but I need him to know,' kinda way."

"What?" His eyebrow quirked up.

Deeg huffed down at him and kissed his nose. "Men are sensitive creatures. He needed a gateway into baby knowledge. One that didn't make him look incompetent, simply in need of guidance." He felt a smile trying to fight its way out at her appraisal of the situation. "I happen to have a fairly good relationship with you. He's using me as a buffer and a sign of peace."

"A sign of peace?"

"Yup. Apparently, I am now officially worthy of you. Thus the peaceful gesture. So-" She kissed him again. "Go talk to your son about being a dad. I'll be here. Playing with my puppy."

"Deeg?"

"Yes?"

"You're a very strange princess."

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

He rumbled out a laugh and sat up. "You do that. I'll go explain the diaper changin' process."

"Good." Slipping off the bed she tossed him his pants before sliding into hers. "When you're done I would love for you to come back and repeat the lecture with me."

"Why? You plannin' on babysittin'?"

"Nope." She pulled her blouse over her head. Moving to him she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him soundly. "I figure I'll need to know how to do it in about eight months."

"Laura's due in less than a week."

"I know." Her eyes shone happily and he blinked at her as he processed what she was saying. Her lips curled into a smile and she put his hand on her stomach. "Good thing to. You need to brush up on your skills. Evan will be excellent practice don't you think?"

Author Note: Okay, real life found out where I was and attacked me. It was vicious and Fred had to fight buck tooth and big feet to get it to back off. Thankfully, he won this round, though it was a nasty fight. It ended in name calling. I'm telling you… Anyway! Hope this one was worth the wait.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Tin Man doesn't belong to me.

So, in hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have just sprung that on him. Wyatt was utterly still as he looked at the hand she had put on her stomach. Considering she thought that had been an excellent delivery this wasn't going very well in her opinion. Was mentioning this a bad idea or had the timing been off? It wasn't like she could hide this for more than a couple of weeks. Then again she was a bit shocked when Kalm mentioned the fact that she was going to have a baby. Since he was a seer she asked the obvious questions while they searched through the library for a book on economics. Kalm wanted to know more about how they worked and she remembered reading a fairly understandable one early on in her lessons. At least Toto started her off easy before plunging into the hard stuff. They went hunting for the particular volume when the subject came up.

"DG will have a cub."

Flipping through a book in her hand she was trying to remember if this was the right one and answered distractedly. Kalm usually said some pretty cryptic and alarming things. She had gotten used to his assertions over the last few years. The statements he made were generally far off in the future. After the first dozen or so she stopped going into panic attacks over possible life ending scenarios he would mention out of hand. At this point he could have told her the O.Z. was going to explode and she would have nodded in agreement. She could only assume that at some point in time it would happen via magic or meteor impact. "I figured at some point. Do you have a specific date?"

The young viewer looked at her with innocent brown eyes while she flipped through a book. "When leaves fall off trees."

"That's good to know." This wasn't the right book. She put it on the shelf again and started sorting through the others. "Maybe I can name her Autumn if it's a girl."

"Not sure Tin Man will like that name. Should ask before decide." She wasn't shocked the young viewer knew she was seeing Wyatt. In fact, it had turned out to be the worst kept secret in the palace. They had assumed no one knew but Jeb and Laura but apparently they weren't as sneaky or smart as they thought they were. Az had walked into her suite while she and Wyatt were playing cards a week after the raid, looked at the necklace she was wearing, and raised an eyebrow. Then her sister had asked, with bluntness that put her usual comments to shame, if they were going to move in together or if she would have to continue to try to guess where she was all the time. She had blinked at Az who had huffed and told her very firmly to tell her where she was staying from now on. Wyatt suppressed his obvious mirth as her face heated up, probably pleased it was her turn for a family interrogation, and she mumbled that she would let her know the next day.

After some discussion they settled on his room and she magicked her things in that night. A fight over drawer space had ensued. She won that much to her pleasure. Actually, much to both of their pleasure if she was going to be honest about it. She reconsidered the whole incident and was suddenly and deeply suspicious that Wyatt didn't care one wit about drawer space. That wasn't cool. He was paying for that at some point. Sneaky tin man.

She grabbed a book that was the same color as the one she put back. She was sure the one they were looking for was blue. "Considering we have a few years to decide that shouldn't be a problem."

Kalm took the book from her and repeated his earlier statement. "Have till leaves fall."

Admittedly, she started to get a bit nervous at the wording. "What leaves?"

He pointed toward the window. "Leaves on trees."

Her head snapped around to look at the sunlight pouring in the tall windows. "As in those leaves? The ones budding on the trees at this very moment?"

"Yes." He opened the book and smiled at it. Then he closed it and touched her stomach with a gentle hand. "And will be girl. Thank you for finding book for Kalm." Then he turned and walked toward the door as if nothing life altering happened. She was left standing alone with her mouth hanging open before she put her hand on her stomach. That was four days ago. As if that stress wasn't enough Wyatt decided to disappear on her. Having no idea what was happening in his head she was loath to mention the fact that she was pregnant. If he was mad about something she thought they should work that out before she dropped this on him. Stress was a little high. But that stress melted away after she got the puppy. Now it was back with a vengeance.

His silence wasn't helping to lower her stress level either. The excitement of the last few hours vanished as she started to gnaw on her lower lip. "Wyatt?" His eyes snapped to her face as she jolted him out of his thoughts. "You really need to say something now."

"What are you saying?" His eyes returned to her stomach as he asked.

"I'm pregnant. You know. Making a new person."

"Pregnant?"

Her stomach began to knot up unpleasantly. His voice was flat. "You aren't happy." It was a statement. A miserable one. This wasn't how she had envisioned this going. She stepped away from him and all of a sudden he wasn't a statue anymore. He grabbed her and pulled her back to him quickly. Dragging her onto his lap he sealed his lips over hers. Surprised by the sudden show of affection after the stillness she fell into him.

When he broke away he stroked her face lovingly. She had never seen his eyes so soft before and she relaxed. "We're havin' a baby?" He kissed her again before laying her on her back on the blankets. "Oh, Darlin'." His voice was low and gruff. Leaning down he kissed her stomach before stretching out next to her and kissing her again. He set his open hand over her abdomen and smiled brilliantly down at her.

Relief coursed through her as he touched her. "You're happy?" She needed to be sure.

"Unbelievable happy." He peppered her face with kisses and she let out a small breath when he rubbed his nose over her skin and reached up to run her hand through his hair. She watched his face as his hand strayed down to her stomach. He started stroking her abdomen as he inspected her more closely. Her stomach was still as flat as it had ever been. Not even a little bump. "When?"

"Three weeks. Kalm told me a few days ago but you were never here."

He didn't stop running his hands over her stomach as she grumbled at him. He was still absorbing the information. "We're goin' to have a little one."

"Yeah." She rubbed her hands down his shoulders. "I know the timing isn't the best-"

He cut her off before she could go any farther with the thought. "There couldn't be a wrong time for this."

"We aren't married. I've noticed that's a big deal on this side." His eyes finally left her stomach. For her, this was the biggest problem. Not for her. For him. She wasn't going to put him a position he didn't want to be in. She had grown up with different standards and ideas than the ones on this side of the rainbow. She was secure here and wasn't bothered with the idea of being unmarried and pregnant even if it threw the rest of the palace and kingdom into a fit. She knew Wyatt wasn't thinking about it in the same way. It wasn't that she thought he would run or even think about leaving, she just wasn't sure he wanted to be married again. She wanted him to have a choice. She needed him to know that she would give him one. She wanted to know that if he did want to marry her it was because he loved her regardless of the baby. "I don't want to push you into that."

He searched her eyes. "Push me?"

She stroked his cheek with her knuckles. "I know you." She tapped on his head gently. "I think noble runs through your bloodstream. God knows I love you for it but I don't want to get married because I'm pregnant."

He kissed her stomach once before he sat up and dragged her with him. "Come with me."

She followed him to the door. "Where are we going?"

Taking her hand they passed Sookie sleeping on the floor with her paws up in the air. It was the cutest thing she had seen her puppy do yet but she was slightly distracted by the events at hand. Wyatt went to the hall and led her downstairs. Heading toward his workroom he held the door open for her, nodding to Glitch, who was banging on what looked like a giant metal dish, and ushered her inside. She looked at him in confusion and he picked her up and set her on his worktable gently. Stepping between her legs he kissed her tenderly as he brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Dorothy Gale, I love you."

She smiled at him. "I love you too."

He leaned forward and set his forehead against hers briefly. Reaching around her he covered a cloth with his hand before putting a few inches between them. "I had intended to do this differently. I was picturing something a bit more romantic than my dirty forge but I can't think of anything that could make me love you anymore than what you just told me. And believe me, I didn't think it was possible for me to be happier."

She was watching him as her forehead crinkled up. Picking the handkerchief up he set it on her lap. She went still and he smiled as he lifted a corner so she could see what was underneath. Two beautifully made silver rings sat shinning in the center of the handkerchief. "They're not quite finished yet but I was hopin' you might consider acceptin' my offer of marriage all the same."

Her voice was soft. "You made me a wedding ring?" That was about the sweetest thing he had ever done and that was really saying something. She couldn't believe these were almost done. He had been thinking about this. He had been thinking about asking her for a long time. She knew how meticulous he was when he was making something like this. Something that mattered. He must have started these when they got back from their fight with the longcoats. That was almost five months ago now. Long before she had gotten pregnant. Long before she was considering that he might even be thinking about asking her if he was going to.

"Been makin' em for a couple months now. I have to tell you I'm a little nervous. What if you don't say yes?"

Slowly, she picked the handkerchief up and set it to the side. "You know I'll say yes."

He cupped her face. "Doesn't mean I'm not nervous."

She closed the distance between them and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. It wasn't hard to find passion where Wyatt was involved. She moaned against him and he pulled her closer to him. Groaning, he palmed the nape of her neck and tilted her head back as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. When they finally broke apart she was smiling brilliantly, even if she was nearly breathless. "Yes."

Letting out a completely undignified whoop the Tin Man picked her up and swung her in a circle. She started to laugh happily and the sound bounced around the room. "Wyatt! Put me down you crazy man! I'm getting dizzy!"

With a bark of laughter he set her on her feet. Holding her in a hug he rumbled happily as he rubbed his head on her hair. "You make me so happy, Darlin'."

"You make me happy too." Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders as she grinned up at him. "You know…"

Growling he leaned in and nibbled her neck as her tone turned teasing. "What?"

"Kalm came told me something else."

"Meanin'?"

"He was a lot less mysterious than he usually is."

He rolled his eyes as she strung it out. "What about it?"

"Do you want to know what it is?"

"What, what is?"

"The baby."

Delight filled his face. "You know?" He plopped her gently on the table again and she laughed at his sudden and absolute curiosity. He refocused on her stomach, tickling her skin as his hand darted under her blouse.

"Yeah."

He looked up at her and her eyes twinkled as she continued to gaze at him. Amused and impatient, he tickled her ribs. She squealed as he hit every sensitive spot over her skin. "Wyatt! Stop!"

"Tell me." He kissed her face as she thrashed.

"Ok, ok, ok!" She batted at his hands and he went back to rubbing her stomach. "It's a girl." His lips were over hers immediately as he hummed happily.

"A girl?"

"A girl." She confirmed. His blue eyes sparkled. She was sure she knew what he was thinking. His life would be filled with dresses, and dolls, and magic. And suitors he could use for target practice. He started to chuckle and she simply smiled at him as he bent down and started to murmur to her belly. She ran her fingers through his hair again. Silly man thought he was going to get a little doll of a girl. If she was anything like her he was getting a Tom Boy. One with magic and full to the brim with mischief. If she was anything like him she would be stubborn to a fault. His daughter would drive him ten types of crazy. "I would like to talk to you, seriously mind you, about names. She will not have some sort of crazy twelve syllable long one. I don't care how popular they are here. Can we agree on that?"

"Yup." No fight at all. He nuzzled her belly and she snickered when he hit a ticklish area.

"Would you stop that?"

He stood back up and kissed her. "We need to tell your parents soon. Not to mention your sister, Jeb, Laura, Glitch and Raw."

"Why not now?"

"Because-" He kissed her much more passionately. "-right now I'm taking you back upstairs so we can celebrate properly." His eyes heated up and he grinned playfully at her before sweeping her off the counter. He didn't set her down until they got to the door of his workroom. Mischief raced over her and she traipsed out of the room in front of him. He growled low in his throat at her blatant teasing and followed close behind her. Glitch waved to them as they left and she grinned up at him before they escaped into the hall. She and Wyatt had a lot to talk about. But she thought it could all wait until tomorrow. Right now all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with him again. Right now she was perfectly happy about everything. She thought, this time, that just might last. One look at Wyatt's happy face and she changed that might to a definitely.

That thought lasted the full five minutes it took them to get back to their room. He opened the door for her and she stopped dead in the doorway. The entire room was covered in white feathers. The Tin Man's jaw dropped as Sookie growled around a pillowcase and shook her head sending another shower of feathers in every direction. Wyatt began to scold the puppy. "No! Bad dog!"

Sookie looked up at him as he approached and then turned and ran out of his reach. He cursed as she avoided him and feathers flew out of the destroyed pillowcase behind her. The tin man growled and went after her again and she shut the door to keep the puppy in. A second later and the sight of Wyatt racing after a four pound puppy trailing goose down was too much for her. She burst into gales of laughter and he shot her a look. Moving to him she wrapped her arms around his neck as white fluff floated around them. "I love you."

"I love you too. Enough that I won't kill your dog."

She snickered and kissed him. "Sweet."

His arms wrapped around her. "I try." He kissed her again before letting her go. "I think we best start trainin' her now. Otherwise there won't be any pillows for me to toss you on while we celebrate." Her eyes twinkled at him as he turned his back and started stalking the puppy. This was utterly ridiculous in every way. She was fairly certain puppy catching hadn't been part of the tin man's plans for them this afternoon. Then again a lot of things that happened to them weren't part of a plan. She supposed sometimes things were just better that way.

Author Note: Whew. That's it. The end. I'm really sorry it took so long. I would list the reasons it took me so long to get this to you but you would get bored and stop reading. Hope you liked this one and as an added bonus I'll tell you I have a chapter for a new story done. I'll have that posted in a few days.


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